Is Garrett Crochet no longer worthy of being considered as a potential ace pitcher for the Chicago White Sox?

Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet was dazzling during his first three starts of the season. Fast forward to the present, and he has been shaky over the past three.

He has gone from must-see TV to making you want to turn off the television at certain points of the season.

Crochet lasted just four-plus innings during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins. He was charged with five earned runs, gave up seven hits, walked two, and struck out six. His ERA has gone from 2.00 on April 7th to 6.37 today.

He allowed just four earned runs over his first three starts. That was a pleasant surprise considering he was being converted from a reliever who had pitched in just 73 innings before this season. Plus, the Sox needed a top-of-the-rotation pitcher after trading away Dylan Cease during spring training. Crochet looked like he was ready to fill that void.

Now, it looks like he may not be ace material as Crochet has given up 17 earned runs over his last three starts. The longest he has lasted is four-and-two-thirds innings against the Cincinnati Reds on April 13th.

It makes you wonder if those first three amazing starts were just a mirage.

Also, it would be premature to rule out Crochet still becoming a bonafide ace. Right now his issue is avoiding a big inning and giving up home runs.

Against the Reds, he gave up all five of those earned runs charged to him in the second inning. Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm hit two three-run homers off of Garrett. Willi Castro also crushed a three-run bomb in the second inning on Wednesday night.

It is not like Crochet is all throwing pitches over the place. His heat maps show he is still throwing strikes. The problem is it looks like he is falling victim to a left-handed pitcher trying to get some pitches down and in on right-handed hitters. That means the ball is going to be up in the zone just enough to for a righty to have a chance to turn on the ball. That is what Castro did in his three-run shot.

Also, a poor defensive play by Andrew Benintendi is what allowed Crochet to get charged with his fifth earned run.

If you want to be concerned with Crochet's recent outings, that is fine. He was always going to be on pitch count since this will be the most innings he has thrown this season. The hope was he would be effective like he was doing those first three starts to go longer into games.

He is also second in the league in strikeouts. Really, it is just a matter of Crochet making some adjustments to avoid the big inning and serving up home run balls. If he can fix that, then he can still be considered an ace.