Garrett Crochet, the top strikeout pitcher in the American League for the Chicago White Sox, had another game with a shortened appearance. The main question is how many more starts this hard-throwing lefty might have with the team.
Crochet, who could be traded to contenders either as a starter or reliever, struck out seven batters in four innings during a 3-2 loss to Texas on Tuesday night.
The 25-year-old, who began his career as a reliever, has already pitched a career-high 111 1/3 innings over 21 starts this season. The White Sox are carefully managing his workload as he was their first-round draft pick in 2020.
“In terms of benefits… I think that’s more of a long-term thing that I’ll see at the end of the year,” Crochet said. “But my body feels good, and recovery has been good.”
Crochet has pitched just 10 innings in his three starts in July for the White Sox, who have the worst record in the majors at 27-76.
He threw 49 of 74 pitches for strikes against the Rangers, a week after appearing in the All-Star Game at the same ballpark, and a week before the trade deadline.
“As the deadline approaches, it’s definitely something that I’m aware of,” he said. “But it’s out of my control. Once the trade deadline passes, whatever happens, happens.”
Texas scored two runs, including one on a double steal that included Josh Smith stealing home and had three singles in the first inning. Those were the only runs allowed by Crochet, who allowed four hits and walked two.
“He felt a bit strange because he had only pitched one inning in the past 11 days,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol explained.
“I told him, ‘Look, if you felt off and still managed to pitch 74 pitches and give up just two runs, with one not even really being your fault… you did a great job working through their lineup without feeling your mechanics as you’d like.'”
Grifol admitted that Crochet could likely have pitched longer in the game.
“This is a positive start for him in the second half of the season, and we’ll see where we go from here,” the manager remarked. Crochet has now struck out 157 batters, trailing San Diego Padres right-hander Dylan Cease by just two for the MLB lead.
In his last start before the All-Star break on July 12, Crochet threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts against Pittsburgh. This came six days after pitching 93 pitches and allowing two runs over four innings in a no-decision game in Miami.
“Today was a bit of a unique situation,” Crochet said. “I threw two innings against Pittsburgh, I can’t recall the exact pitch count but I don’t think it was even 30, and then 18 pitches in the All-Star Game.
So it made sense to have a shorter start today, especially with the extended rest, to ease back into the regular workload.”
Crochet was drafted 11th overall in 2020 from Tennessee, where he primarily pitched as a reliever. In 2019, he pitched 65 innings in 18 games (six starts) for the Volunteers, which was his highest workload until this season when he surpassed 100 innings before the All-Star break.
He pitched 54 1/3 innings across 54 relief appearances for the White Sox in 2021 but missed the entire following season due to Tommy John surgery. Last year, he pitched 25 innings — 12 1/3 in the minors and 12 2/3 in the majors — before transitioning to a starting role.
“It would be really beneficial for him to make 30 to 32 starts,” Grifol stated before the game. “Even if he only finishes the last start with just one inning, completing a full season with 30 starts would be very beneficial for him. That’s our view, but we’ll see how things play out.”
