After much uncertainty over which direction the White Sox would go in during the first-round of this year’s draft, we now have our answer. With the 11th overall pick, the organization selected left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet out of the University of Tennessee.
Crochet has seen his name fluctuate in the draft rankings as of late, and just became closely connected to the White Sox within the past 24 hours thanks to the release of experts’ final draft predictions. Rated Mississippi’s best prep pitching prospect back in 2017, the southpaw elected to attend Tennessee and split time as a starter and reliever during his first two seasons.
As a freshman and sophomore, Crochet’s numbers weren’t eye-popping by any means. There was improvement being made, however, which is indicated in his stats.
It wasn’t until this past fall that Crochet started turning heads during practices and immediately saw his name being thrown into the upper portion of this draft class. His fastball, which already played well due to its high spin rate, saw a rather dramatic jump from 91-95 mph in the spring season to 96-100 mph by the fall. He pairs that with a major league-ready 82-85 mph slider (influenced by Chris Sale’s) and a deceptive changeup that has been labeled as being well-above average by MLB Pipeline.
First Look
MLB Pipeline Grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50
Draft Rankings: MLB Pipeline: 18 | Keith Law: 39 | Baseball America: 15 | FanGraphs: 23 | ESPN: 16
Pros vs. Cons
The Good: Crochet has earned high praises from The Athletic‘s Keith Law and others who believe he could pitch in relief in the majors as soon as this year. His spin rate and newfound velocity gives him the best fastball in the draft. Throw in the deadly slider and a plus changeup and you have an arm that be on the South Side as soon as 2020. While most teams view him as a starter, there’s some uncertainty whether he’ll land in a rotation or the bullpen. He has the build, the arm, and the arsenal to be considered to throw every fifth day (like a Chris Sale), though would be just fine in the bullpen if that does not pan out (Andrew Miller).
Here’s what some of the experts have to say:
The Not-So Good: This pick comes with its fair share of risk. Crochet doesn’t have an established track record as a starting pitcher like most guys from the college level. An abbreviated 2020 season was shortened even further to just 3.1 innings after the lefty power-pitcher experienced shoulder soreness. His command also raises some questions, as it could use some work to take it from average to above-average in order to make his stuff that much better. A full-season would have been beneficial to see where Crochet really stands, and it very well could have boosted his draft stock even further.
Why it makes sense
Going into the draft, a hole in the White Sox organization that needed to be addressed was left-handed pitching. By adding Crochet, you bring in an advanced arm that helps address a major need. He will most certainly jump ahead of lefties Bernardo Flores (20) and Konnor Pilkington (24) in the team’s top 30 prospect rankings. Should he remain in the rotiation, he could become a highly coveted left-handed starter that aside from the two other names mentioned, is pretty bare. Either way, Crochet is a guy who we could see contributing in Chicago in some form very, very soon.
Insight from Ryan Schumpert, The Daily Beacon
Crochet arrived in Knoxville as a late addition to Tony Vitello’s first signing class at Tennessee. The southern Mississippi native didn’t receive much fanfare as the Vols poached the tall lefty from a Mississippi junior college. Crochet took a big step from his freshman season to his sophomore season, though the numbers don’t truly show it, as his ERA dropped from 5.51 to 4.02. Nevertheless, his growth was evident, decreasing his walks and striking out 19 more batters. Crochet struggled slightly with the midseason move from the bullpen to weekend starter.
Crochet’s fastball has been touted as the best in the 2020 draft. His velocity has improved every year in Knoxville and sits in the high-90s, even touching 100 mph this fall and again during quarantine. His slider is his go-to put out pitch and though he didn’t truly have four strong pitches during his sophomore season, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello and pitching coach Frank Anderson are adamant that Crochet is a four-pitch starter after an offseason that saw him greatly improve his changeup.
Crochet missed the first three weeks of the season due to shoulder soreness before making a 3.1 inning debut against Wright State where he struck out six. Vitello and company were mostly being cautious with Crochet, stating he could’ve started opening day if it was a regional. Crochet was set to be the Vols’ Friday starter at South Carolina in the SEC opener when the season was canceled the day before. The Ocean Springs native isn’t short on toughness, taking a line drive to the face, and breaking his jaw in the final regular season series of 2019. Just two weeks later, Crochet pitched twice in the Chapel Hill regional, giving solid outings out of the bullpen.
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Featured Photo: Tennessee Baseball/Twitter
