The pitching staff of the Chicago White Sox this season has been incredibly disappointing. Of course, the team as a whole can say that they've been disappointing but we have certainly come to expect more from the pitchers.
Normally, despite their struggles as an organization, they can produce a few quality pitchers. This year, however, it feels like everyone has taken a step backward. The ones that were pitching well were sent away at the trade deadline.
One pitcher who would have just liked to be healthy this season is Garrett Crochet. He has been missing almost all year (and all of last year) recovering from injuries. He was a highly touted pitching prospect when the White Sox first drafted him but now his future is cloudy.
In 2021, the White Sox tried to ease Crochet into the league so they made him a reliever. He did very well to the tune of a 2.82 ERA out of the bullpen.
The Chicago White Sox have missed Garrett Crochet for a while now.
After missing all of 2022, he has only made ten appearances with the White Sox this season. He didn't pitch badly in those games by any means but he did have some rust to shake off. He currently has a 3.60 ERA to go with 9 strikeouts in 10.0 innings pitched.
On Monday, Crochet met with the media and announced that he plans to play again in the final two weeks of the season. He also wants to finish strong and enter what he considers to be a normal off-season. Obviously, Crochet hasn't had a normal off-season in a really long time and never in his MLB career.
When Crochet is at his best (and healthy), he combines a very hard fastball with some really good breaking stuff. He has shown the ability to confuse hitters with his pitching. It has worked out for him at every level so far.
We don't know if he will be a starter in the long-term but he is sure to be a reliever once things pick up for him again this season. He will likely come out of the bullpen again next season as well. We will see what kind of level he is able to get to once he is healthy.