Why Garrett Crochet should be an All-Star

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- Garrett Crochet should be an American League All-Star.

There’s no debate. Not with the left-hander’s 1.36 ERA since May 5 emerging as the lowest in Major League Baseball. Not with the 25-year-old leading the AL with 130 strikeouts, ranking second in the Majors to the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow (135).

Crochet is one of the game’s best stories in 2024 so far. But should he start for the AL in this season’s Midsummer Classic on July 16 in Arlington? White Sox manager Pedro Grifol believes the credentials are there for his ace.

“He’s one of the top five pitchers in the game, and I’m having a hard time thinking of five,” Grifol said. “I don’t know who’s going to start that game, but I know [Crochet] needs to be pitching in that game. It’s a great story, where this guy comes from being a reliever to all of a sudden being one of the most dominant starters in the game and commanding the baseball like no other.

“The way he pounds the strike zone with that kind of stuff and delivery, and every time you talk to opposing clubs and hitters, what they say is what it really is. This guy is really difficult to see, it’s difficult to hit. It’s power stuff. It’s in the strike zone, boring in on your hands, it’s sinking away, it’s pretty damn good stuff.”

After missing the 2022 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, Crochet made 13 relief appearances in ’23 and walked 13 against 12 strikeouts over 12 2/3 innings. In ’24, Crochet has 20 free passes over a career-best 94 1/3 innings against those 130 punchouts.

A major reason for Crochet’s success stems from trusting high-level stuff that includes a four-seam fastball averaging 96.9 mph and a cutter averaging 91.4 mph, according to Statcast, while mixing in a wipeout slider and changeup.

“The problem when I came back from Tommy John last year with all the walks was being afraid of contact,” Crochet told MLB.com. “Early in the counts, I’m not afraid to attack there, and last year I was, and that’s why the walks piled up.

“It was really making sure that I knew that wasn’t who I was. I wanted to give myself a fighting chance at making the rotation in spring, so it was like, ‘I’ve just got to throw strikes.’”

Grifol has coached in two All-Star Games and understands the value of the selection, especially a first All-Star appearance as it would be for Crochet. Appearing in the game only heightens the experience.

There’s a much-discussed cognizance of handling Crochet’s workload in his first year as a starter, but the White Sox aren’t building the schedule around an All-Star bid. They are doing so because testing and communication among various departments show Crochet as strong and getting stronger with a need to continue building as a starter.

Boston’s Tanner Houck, Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal join Crochet in the potential All-Star starter mix. Crochet’s statistics stack up against any of them.

“[Being an All-Star] would be cool,” Crochet said. “I think that’s the cool part is being voted in by your peers and having that level of respect. But besides that, nothing really would change for me day to day. It would be a very big honor.”

“One thing that’s really taken off is his confidence,” said White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz. “One thing he saw was how the starters prepare, just like game planning, wanting to know the guys, knowing himself, and really going out there and trusting his stuff and understanding he’s the best in baseball.”