Thurston graduated from Vallejo high school in Vallejo, California. He was originally selected in 1997 by the Boston Red Sox in the 45th round (1,332nd overall) of the Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign with them and instead went to Sacramento City College, for which he delivered the game-winning hit to lead the Panthers to the 1999 state championship. He was drafted again in 1999, this time by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 4th round (134th) of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft.\n', '

In 2001, Thurston was ranked the 9th-best prospect in the Dodgers\' system after posting a .338 OBP in AA Jacksonville, and by 2002 few prospects appeared to have a brighter future than the 22-year-old second baseman. Playing for the Las Vegas 51s of the AAA Pacific Coast League, Thurston hit .334 with an .878 OPS and 22 stolen bases in 2002, earning him the L.A. Dodgers\' Minor League Player of the Year Award and Baseball America\'s AAA Player of the Year honors. Thurston made his major-league debut on September 2, 2002 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .462 in 8 games.\n', '

But 2002 would ultimately be the peak of Thurston\'s minor-league career. Returning to AAA in 2003, his OPS fell to .746, and it slipped further (to .721) in 2004. He was again a late-season call-up in 2003 and 2004, but he hit just .185 in the two seasons combined. The expectation that he would be a future star had evaporated. On July 29, 2005, the Dodgers shipped Thurston to the New York Yankees as part of a conditional deal. He played for their Triple-A team, the Columbus Clippers and was granted free agency after the season.\n', '

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