Garrett Crochet Struck Out 13 Hitters in 7 Innings While Throwing ONE (1) Offspeed Pitch the Entire Game
One of my favorite things about baseball is that if you watch it every night — even if you're watching a team as horrific as the 2024 White Sox — you'll see something you've never seen before at least a few times a year. And I've definitely never seen what Garrett Crochet did on Thursday night, striking out 13 over seven innings using nothing but fastballs and cutters for 101 of his 102 pitches.
There have been pitchers good enough to be able to get away with using just two pitches before, but generally that means a fastball and a breaking ball. Crochet was throwing nothing but hot, stinky cheddar all night and nobody on the Mariners could touch it. That has to feel unbelievable.
After the seventh or eighth strikeout when he's throwing basically one pitch the entire game, there is absolutely zero excuse to be late on one of these fastballs. If he finally throws a slider and you look silly swinging when it's coming out of his hand, tip your cap. But he literally never did that. Just straight heaters.
Assuming the White Sox deal him at the deadline, Crochet is going to command quite a haul of prospects. And if Chicago packages him with Luis Robert, somebody is going to have to give up a king's ransom to get those two.
There is literally no other reason to watch the White Sox this season, but if you haven't seen a Crochet start, I'd highly encourage you to tune in for one. His stuff is disgusting. Or just wait six weeks or so until he's on the Dodgers and then his outings will be much more entertaining.