Carlos Rodon will never forget the first time he saw Garrett Crochet pitch.
“After like three pitches, I knew this kid was filthy,” the Yankees pitcher said of his Red Sox counterpart. “It was a fastball at 101 (mph), and the next pitch was 102. And then a wipeout slider, plus another breaking ball.”
The former White Sox teammates were in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, pitching at the team’s alternate training site during the 2020 pandemic season. Rodon was rehabbing from a shoulder injury, and Crochet was throwing a live batting practice session. The White Sox had just drafted Crochet out of the University of Tennessee as their 11th overall pick that summer.
He instantly made a lasting impression.
“After three pitches, I knew exactly what kind of pitcher he was going to be,” Rodón added.
Now, as the ace of the Red Sox pitching staff, Crochet is a strong contender to win the American League Cy Young award. He has a 2.38 ERA (top three in the AL), 14 wins (tied for most in the AL), 207 strikeouts (second-most in MLB) in 166.1 innings pitched (second-most in MLB).
The reigning AL Cy Young winner, Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, is still the favorite. But Crochet’s unwavering consistency this season has given the southpaw a legitimate chance to pull off an upset.
“Can’t expect perfection throughout the season, but definitely striving for it,” Crochet said last week at Yankee Stadium. “Overall this year, I feel like I’ve been as consistent as I could have hoped for.”
It might not seem like it, but Crochet going deep into games at this point in his career — in a pennant race, no less — is a big deal. The power-lefty broke into the big leagues as a relief pitcher, even though his ceiling was always a top-of-the-rotation arm, drawing comparisons to left-handed legend, Chris Sale. Crochet transitioned to a full-time starting pitcher last season with the White Sox, and he didn’t throw more than four innings in a start after July 1 last year. Chicago wanted to protect Crochet from injuries as he increased his workload.
This year, it’s been full-bore; the first season Crochet is not on an innings limit. He blew past his career high in innings pitched (146) earlier this month, but unlike other relievers-turned-starters around the league, the southpaw hasn’t slowed down or allowed his performance to suffer because of it. In his most recent outing, Crochet held the Yankees to one run and one walk and struck out 11 batters over seven dominant innings. Across the season, his 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings are ranked fourth in MLB.
Crochet credits a changed mindset for his sustained success this season.
“I’m just trying to stay grounded as much as possible,” Crochet said. “And the routine, I think that factors in a good bit there. Just each start, looking forward to the next one and trying not to give myself too much downtime or anything like that, because that’s when the intimidation creeps in.”
It’s not that Crochet used to spend his downtime overthinking, exactly. It’s that now, he spends hardly any time feeling satisfied about his accomplishments.
“For me, it’s just more so, just being diligent,” he said. “I think that’s just the best way to do it. I feel like that’s kind of what I could attribute the consistency to this year. I’m just really trying to (think about) this one, then the next one, then the next one. There’s never a chance to — and it sucks, but it is what it is — there’s never a chance to be proud of the last start. It’s like, okay, yeah, I did my job. Now let’s move on.
“And last year, obviously, it was my first year (starting). So, I’d have a good game and the next day I’d be on cloud nine. Now I have a good game and the next day I’m doing my scouting. Just getting ready.”
The Red Sox aren’t surprised by Crochet’s durability this season. When Boston traded for him in December, they anticipated he would make 30-plus starts, while relying on the starter to tell them if he needed to better manage his workload down the stretch. The season Crochet is putting together is better than that benchmark.
“He embraces this. He loves it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of his ace. “He wanted to be the number one guy on this team.”
Garrett Crochet is making his case in the Cy Young race. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Crochet has his eyes on his first 200-strikeout, 200-innings season. He just eclipsed 200 strikeouts in his most recent start, his second consecutive year achieving it. And he’s on track to reach that coveted 200-innings mark after roughly five more outings, or sometime in the middle of September.
He would become the eighth Red Sox player to accomplish the feat since 2000, joining Eduardo Rodriguez, Sale, David Price, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling.
“His work ethic is second to none,” Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey said. “His ability to bounce back, put in some good work in the bullpen between starts, and his competitiveness. When you trade for a guy or even sign for a guy, you don’t really know the person that you’re getting. I mean, you can do all the work you want.
“But Garrett is a guy that wants the ball every fifth day, wants to be out there, wants to compete, not be taken out of games, and he’s not scared of the big moment. He’s an elite athlete. And his ability to grow and evolve has been awesome.”
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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