From the time Garrett Crochet was drafted there was talk of him moving quickly in the system and even having a shot at an MLB debut in 2020. On Friday, when he actually made that debut, he showed why.
In a word: velocity.
The 6-foot-6 left-hander, who was called up earlier in the day, came on in relief in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds. The White Sox were down 6-1 so it was a perfect, low-stress situation to make his debut.
Crochet opened with two sliders. The first bounced and the second was a high strike. Then his fastball became the story. Crochet’s first was 100 mph and way off the plate, just like his first slider. Then he hit the zone with 99 and got a foul ball. He eventually got Brian Goodwin looking on a 100 mph fastball down the middle.
The next batter, Jose Garcia, had no chance. Garcia fouled off a first-pitch 100 mph fastball down the middle and then whiffed on back-to-back 101s that were both in the zone. The strikeout pitch was 101.5 mph and caught the inside part of the plate.
Tucker Barnhart took three straight 100 mph fastballs, two of which were strikes, before grounding out on an 86 mph slider.
Crochet reached triple digits six times and five of those were in the strike zone. In nine fastballs, Crochet averaged 100.4 mph and only two were balls. He threw four sliders, which were 85-88, and two were strikes. He was not brought out for a second inning.
Given the excitement of his MLB debut and the fact that Crochet had been starting in college, his velocity likely played up a bit. Still, the White Sox are planning to keep him in the bullpen this year. This is what he can bring in the final week and a half and potentially the playoffs if he makes the postseason roster.
Fellow prospect Jonathan Stiever gave up four home runs in less than three innings, but Crochet got the fan base buzzing with an electric debut.
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