Garrett Nolan Crochet (/krˈʃ/; born June 21, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox.

Garrett Crochet
Crochet pitching for Tennessee in 2019
Boston Red Sox – No. 35
Pitcher
Born: (1999-06-21) June 21, 1999 (age 25)
Ocean Springs, Mississippi, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 18, 2020, for the Chicago White Sox
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record9–19
Earned run average3.29
Strikeouts294
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Crochet played college baseball for the Tennessee Volunteers and was selected by the White Sox with the 11th overall selection of the 2020 MLB draft. He was called up in September 2020 by the White Sox to become the first MLB player in six years to reach the big leagues in the same year in which he was drafted.[1][2]

Amateur career

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Crochet grew up in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and attended Ocean Springs High School. During his junior season, he posted a 3–0 win–loss record with a 0.51 earned run average (ERA) and 25 strikeouts in 27+23 innings pitched. Following the season, Crochet initially committed to play college baseball at Jones County Junior College.[3] As a senior, he went 6–4 with a 1.48 ERA and 76 strikeouts to draw late recruiting interest from many top collegiate programs, including Texas and Tennessee.[4][5] Crochet was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 34th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but chose not to sign and instead enrolled at Tennessee.[6][7]

As a true freshman at Tennessee in 2018, Crochet appeared in 17 games with 11 starts, posting a 5–6 record with a 5.51 ERA and 62 strikeouts.[8] In 2019, his sophomore year, he went 5–3 with a 4.02 ERA over 18 appearances (six starts), missing the SEC Tournament after suffering a broken jaw in his last regular season start.[9][10] After the season Crochet was invited to training camp for the United States Collegiate National Baseball Team,[11][12] and entered his junior season as a first team preseason All-American by Baseball America and on the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award.[13][14][15] Crochet missed the first three weeks of the season due to arm soreness,[16] then appeared in one game before the college baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional career

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Chicago White Sox

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The White Sox selected Crochet in the first round, with the 11th overall selection, in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft,[17] and he signed a contract on June 22, 2020, that included a $4,547,500 bonus.[18]

On September 18, 2020, Crochet became the first player from the 2020 MLB Draft class to be promoted to the major leagues. He is the 22nd player to go straight from the draft to the majors without playing in the minor leagues, and the first since Mike Leake in 2010 and was the first player to be promoted in their draft year since Brandon Finnegan in 2014.[19] With the 2020 Chicago White Sox, Crochet appeared in five games, not allowing a run in six innings pitched while consistently throwing 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).[20][21] He came out of the bullpen to strike out both batters he faced in Chicago's 6–4 loss to the Oakland Athletics in the decisive Game 3 of the 2020 American League Wild Card Series before leaving with forearm tightness.[22] Crochet had his first full season in 2021, when he recorded a 2.82 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 54+13 innings. He would miss the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 2.[23]

In 2023, Crochet made his return from surgery, appearing in 13 games and recording a 3.55 ERA with 12 strikeouts across 12+23 innings pitched.[24]

On March 18, 2024, Crochet was named the White Sox Opening Day starting pitcher.[25] In his first start, Crochet went 6 innings giving up 5 hits, one run, and striking out 8 batters in a 1–0 loss to the Detroit Tigers. He was named MLB Pitcher of the Month for June that year becoming the 17th White Sox pitcher to do so. In the month of June, Crochet went 1–1 with an ERA of 1.91 with a 0.93 WHIP in 37+23 innings while striking out 56 batters in six starts.[26] On July 7, Crochet would be named to his first All-Star Game in his career.[27] In the first half of the season, Crochet was 6–6 with an 3.02 ERA and a WHIP of 0.95 in 20 starts in 107+13 innings, while leading the league in strikeouts with 150 and strikeouts per 9 innings at 12.6.

Crochet made 32 starts for the White Sox in 2024, posting a 3.58 ERA with 209 strikeouts across 146 innings pitched, setting a new career-high.[28] After the season, he was named AL Comeback Player of the Year.[29]

Boston Red Sox

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On December 11, 2024, Crochet was traded to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for prospects Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman González.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "2020 Prospect Watch: 100 Draft". MLB Prospect Watch. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "MLB Draft Tracker". MLB.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Ochs, Patrick (December 12, 2016). "Ocean Springs honors college-bound athletes". Sun Herald. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Clay, Patrick (June 14, 2017). "Ocean Springs LHP Garrett Crochet selected by Brewers in MLB Draft". WLOX.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  5. ^ "Ocean Springs' Garrett Crochet to pitch on Fridays for Tennessee". Sun Herald. March 16, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Ocean Springs' Garrett Crochet selected by Milwaukee Brewers". Sun Herald. June 14, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Haeger, Jeff (June 15, 2017). "Ocean Springs' Garrett Crochet Weighs Pro Career VS. College". WXXV25.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Zielinski, Dan (January 28, 2020). "Garrett Crochet has refined skills at Tennessee". BaseballProspectJournal.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  9. ^ "Alerick Soularie, Garrett Crochet garner preseason All-American honors". The Daily Times. January 7, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  10. ^ Lay, Ken (June 26, 2019). "Garrett Crochet to try out for Team USA". Vols Wire. USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Rucker, Wes (June 18, 2019). "Vols' Crochet invited to USA Baseball CNT training camp". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  12. ^ Harrelson, Dan (June 17, 2019). "Garrett Crochet invited to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp". Vols Wire. USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  13. ^ Callis, Jim (August 22, 2019). "These are the best college 2020 Draft prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  14. ^ "Crochet & Soularie Tabbed as Preseason All-Americans by Baseball America". NewsTalk987.com. January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  15. ^ Rucker, Wes (February 13, 2020). "BASEBALL: Vols duo named to Golden Spikes Award watch list". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  16. ^ Rucker, Wes (March 7, 2020). "BASEBALL: No. 11 Vols beat Wright State in Crochet's return". 247Sports.com. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  17. ^ Fegan, James (June 10, 2020). "Could Garrett Crochet be the next Chris Sale for the White Sox?". The Athletic. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "Chicago White Sox announce deal with 1st-round draft pick Garrett Crochet". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  19. ^ "White Sox Promote Garrett Crochet". September 18, 2020.
  20. ^ Langs, Sarah. "Garrett 2nd in 100mph pitches". mlb.com. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Garrett Crochet Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  22. ^ Merkin, Scott (October 1, 2020). "White Sox lose to A's eliminated from postseason". MLB.com. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  23. ^ McDaniel, Mike (April 2, 2022). "White Sox Announce Major Surgery for 2020 First Rounder Garrett Crochet". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  24. ^ "White Sox's Garrett Crochet: Preparing to start in 2024". CBSSports.com. January 9, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  25. ^ "White Sox's Garrett Crochet to make 1st start on Opening Day". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  26. ^ "Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox named the American League Pitcher of the Month for June; Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies named the National League Pitcher of the Month for June". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  27. ^ "Crochet earns 1st All-Star selection after dominant start". MLB.com. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  28. ^ "Garrett Crochet Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  29. ^ "Garrett Crochet named American League Comeback Player of the Year". MLB.com. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  30. ^ Browne, Ian (December 11, 2024). "Crochet dealt to Red Sox for big prospect haul". MLB.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
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