Garrett Crochet 'making it look too easy' in first go as White Sox starter

TORONTO — Just what do the White Sox have in Garrett Crochet?

Potentially a left-hander to lead their pitching staff for years to come. A 24-year-old with electric stuff with the ingredients to be a perennial All-Star and Cy Young candidate.

Great fastball, four-pitch mix, plenty of moxie and the intangibles all baked into a prototypical staff ace.

We already know this, just 10 major-league starts into the career of the 2020 No. 11 overall draft pick.

Crochet knows it, too.

“Belief is a lot,” Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz told the Sun-Times. “He knows where he’s at and how good he can be. And it’s all coming to fruition.”

As he attempts to halt the Sox’ four-game losing streak Tuesday against the Blue Jays, Crochet ranks fourth in the majors with 70 strikeouts. His 4.18 ERA, a few points above his 3.32 ERA in 82 relief appearances from 2020 to ’23 (he missed 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery), is inflated by a three-start stretch from April 13 to 24 in which he allowed 11 runs with five homers to the Reds, Phillies and Twins in 17⅔ innings.

Burned too many times by a sweeping slider thrown to, as Crochet put it, the sweet spot that is the hitter’s honeyhole, Crochet and Katz went to the drawing board, put more emphasis on the pitcher’s cutter and made good use of his changeup. The upper-90s heat with triple-digit possibilities remains a staple.

In four starts since that three-game detour, Crochet has allowed three earned runs with 30 strikeouts in 22 innings. He didn’t allow a run in his last two games against the Guardians and Nationals.

“It’s been super encouraging,” Katz said. “He’s made some really good adjustments.

“The biggest pitch he’s been burned on is the sweeper to righties, but he’s offset that in the last couple outings using his cutter down-in as a weapon. The way he’s held velocity and controlled counts is phenomenal. It’s been everything you can ask for, and he’s also gotten his changeup involved a little more, too, to really disrupt right-handed hitters.”

Crochet has oozed confidence since arriving at spring training knowing he’d get a chance to be a starter. Teammates raved about his work in the offseason, and Crochet, an imposing 6-6, 245-pound figure, carried himself in the clubhouse like an emerging leader.

Even Katz would not have predicted the Opening Day nod Crochet earned. After all, he had never started a major-league game.

“Honestly, no,” Katz said. “He’s shown so much, and so much growth in everything. I’m beyond impressed, seeing where he was last year as a reliever, overthinking things at times and now being aggressive, trusting his stuff and letting it go out there and play. It’s really a nice transformation.”

Crochet is thriving on a fastball-slider-cutter-changeup mix while learning to embrace the art of pitching, “but I try not to get away from who I am: Throw fastballs for strikes and come hit it,” he said.

“I also like to be able to pitch backwards. I had a three-pitch punchie [strikeout] to [Washington catcher Keibert] Ruiz the other day. Cutter, heater and I finished with a changeup. Seeing the swing he took confirms everything I told you: It gets guys off the heater, gives a different look.”

“He’s a great talent,” fellow starter Chris Flexen said. “He’s a bulldog out there, looking to take 99 [mph] and shove it right down your throat. And be able to mix off that. He has the potential for double-digit K’s every time out, and it’s fun to watch. He makes it look a little too easy, you know?”

“He’s a fierce competitor, and he has a lot of confidence in his ability,” Katz said. “He knows how good he is. At this level, that’s a huge deal.”