ADK
Garrett Crochet, P
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Scouting report
Crochet spent most of his college career in the bullpen, making just one pre-draft start in 2020 after missing the first few weeks of the college season with what the Volunteers claimed was shoulder soreness. (Major league teams were skeptical of that explanation and thought his absence had to do with an off-the-field matter.) In that lone appearance this spring, Crochet threw 3.1 innings and was absolutely electric, touching 99 with his fastball while flashing a 70-grade slider. How teams valued him leading up to the draft (the relief risk, the injury or makeup issues) was highly variable. Their confidence seemed to be determined by who in the org had seen him and when (many teams weren't able to get a decision-maker to see him in person in 2020), but those that focused on his pitch data, which was shared among all the teams, thought he had among the best raw stuff in the entire draft class and was one of the few pitchers available who might pitch at the top of a rotation or in the back of a bullpen. Crochet was also among the high-octane college pitchers thought capable of going straight to the big leagues in a relief role, something more broadly considered by clubs due to the structure of the 2020 player pool. Out of Burl Carraway, Clayton Beeter, etc., only Crochet actually did. After he tuned up at the alternate site for about two months, Crochet was added to the 40-man and sent to the big leagues in mid-September. He pitched six innings in five relief appearances, walked no one (though he was pretty wild if you put on the tape), allowed just three hits and no runs, and struck out eight big leaguers. He made the White Sox playoff roster but left his first career postseason outing with a flexor strain, which ended his season. He's healthy now, training and throwing at the team's complex in Arizona. Because he barely threw in 2020, he's likely to be on a strict innings limit in 2021. The club is going to try to thread the needle here and use Crochet in a relief role while still trying to develop him as a long-term starter. Players in this situation tend to wind up in the bullpen, and that's where I have Crochet projected based on his strike-throwing limitations, independent of his shortened developmental timeline. (Alternate site, MLB)