Garrett Crochet was a starter for the University of Tennessee in 2020 when he was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the first round. He was excellent and had the appearance of a future major league great.
During that time, the COVID-19 epidemic was ongoing, which interfered with his college season and the beginning of his professional career. He was eventually called up by the White Sox, but he was never able to play in the lower leagues. Right out of the beginning, he served as a reliever.
He was a fantastic bullpen pitcher in 2021. He pitched 54.1 innings with a 2.82 ERA, 65 strikeouts, and just 27 walks in 54 outings. Although the sample size wasn’t very big, he was used in high-stakes scenarios.
The Chicago White Sox are in a situation where they must adjust.
He had Tommy John during the next offseason, which caused him to miss the entirety of 2022. In addition, he was absent for the most of 2023 before returning.
In 2023, he made 13 appearances. In this even smaller sample size, he wasn’t as good as the previous year, but he wasn’t bad either. He had a 3.55 ERA in 12.2 innings, striking out 13 and walking 13. His numbers all declined.
Recovering from such an injury is difficult, but now we have to fear that the White Sox jeopardized the prospects of yet another elite prospect.
There is currently a report that Crochet is getting ready to be a starter in 2024. It would be a major error on the part of the White Sox if they let this. This is not the moment to throw him into the fire because he has never started in this league.
It would be okay if he were to earn that role once more. With fewer than 70 innings pitched in each of the previous three seasons, you can’t just put him in the starting lineup for the time being. You can make that kind of move after it’s evident that Crochet is well and back to his usual self. Even Michael Kopech, who gave it a shot, isn’t finding much success.
Crochet shouldn’t be put in that situation, even though they might deal Dylan Cease, which would leave yet another void in the rotation.
Because he is a competitor, he won’t refuse to do it either. I hope the White Sox choose the right course of action for him and the team in the long run.