Chicago White Sox: Garrett Crochet’s development is a big key
The Chicago White Sox has some good bullpen arms. There are some players that have outstanding stuff but struggled so far this year as well. There has been a bit of bad luck mixed in there as well for a lot of guys but they need to be better as a whole. One player who has had an up and down season so far has been Garrett Crochet. He is the type of player that may need some time in AAA before one more permanent call-up.
Nobody knows what the future is for Crochet but his stuff can be so nasty. He can throw it 100 miles per hour when he wants to and he has brilliant wipe-out offspeed stuff. However, he went from being drafted into the White Sox bullpen in the same summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing other leagues to be canceled.
The Chicago White Sox needs Garrett Crochet to continue his development.
So far in 2021, he only has 22.2 innings in 21 appearances. There will be many days in between appearances for him so it might be better to have him get consistent innings in AAA. His projection is a starter so he could even get starts down there instead of being in the bullpen. He has a 2.78 ERA and 1.546 now after a couple of tough games.
One notable thing is the fact that he has 27 strikeouts in those 22.2 innings. He has the ability to punch out Major League hitters, he just needs more of an opportunity to develop. If they decided to send him down for a month or so, nobody should be too upset about it.
There is also the other side of the coin. Tony La Russa and Rick Hahn might see innings in the MLB as more valuable than innings in AAA. It is something for them to sit down and discuss as an organization. There are pros and cons to both. We have seen him make an impact at the MLB level already so that is a great sign.
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If Crochet continues to develop and become more consistent again, he could be what Michael Kopech is right now which is a future starter that is being used as a superweapon in the bullpen for a while. He is only 22 years old which is something that a lot of people forget.
The White Sox are a first-place team so the pressure is always more intense in a situation like that but we need to be realistic. The window is wide open and Crochet is going to be a big part of their success. They could keep him up or send him down so he can keep learning. Either way, there is no right or wrong answer.