Sox expect Crochet to spend this season in bullpen, starting role in 2022
In less than two weeks, White Sox pitchers and catchers are scheduled to hit the back fields at Camelback Ranch in Arizona for the first workout of spring training.
New manager Tony La Russa and the Sox will be closely watching Michael Kopech, who missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery before opting out last year.
They'll monitor Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez and injury-prone Carlos Rodon, the three leading candidates to fill the two open spots in the starting rotation behind Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel and newcomer Lance Lynn.
They'll probably drool when Garrett Crochet gets up on the mound for his throwing sessions.
Drafted on the first round with the No. 11 overall pick last year after COVID-19 limited his final collegiate season at Tennessee to 3⅓ innings, Crochet and his rocket left arm were in the White Sox's bullpen three months later.
Thrown right into a playoff race after ramping up at the Sox's alternate site in Schaumburg, Crochet overwhelmed opposing hitters. The 6-foot-6, 200-pounder pitched in 5 games down the stretch and piled up 8 strikeouts over 6 scoreless innings.
The Sox kept their fingers crossed when Crochet exited Game 3 of the playoffs at Oakland with left forearm tightness after striking out both hitters he faced.
They let out a sigh of relief when the 21-year-old pitcher was diagnosed with a muscle strain, so Crochet should be ready to let it rip when training camp opens.
Much like Chris Sale, the White Sox's first-round draft pick in 2010, Crochet is projected to be a front-end starting pitcher in the not too distant future.
And, like Sale again, Crochet is scheduled to spend his first full season in the Sox's bullpen before joining the rotation.
"With Garrett, we certainly have the intention of him being a starting pitcher for us at the major-league level," said Chris Getz, the Sox's assistant general manager/player development director. "You look at this upcoming year with the needs that we have on our major-league club, it's most likely the best fit for him and our club to be in more of a bullpen role, a multi-inning role, with the understanding that long term, we still view him as a starter.
"That experience you gain in the bullpen, certainly I think will benefit him. He's a guy that, coming off a 2020 with a lighter workload, a starting workload that for 2022 we have to be very creative, we have to be very cautious of how many innings we put under his belt. And the bullpen role probably is the safest landing spot to accomplish that."
While there are some question marks at the bottom of the rotation, the White Sox's bullpen should be one of baseball's best this season.
In addition to Crochet, the Sox have new closer Liam Hendriks, Aaron Bummer, Evan Marshall, Jace Fry, Codi Heuer and Matt Foster.
"I've seen some of the praises that have us very high among certain people's list of best bullpens in the game," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "I don't really spend a ton of time doing that, in terms of comparing ourselves to the other clubs. I feel that we're in a position, if we're blessed with good health and continue the development of some of our young players, that we can compete with anybody."