White Sox Minor Keys: Sept. 6, 2023
Garrett Crochet is alive, and well enough.
He pitched a 1-2-3 inning for the Birmingham Barons against Biloxi on Wednesday night with a pair of strikeouts, including a four-pitch strikeout of No. 2 overall prospect Jackson Chourio.
Crochet hadn’t pitched in more than two months, as his rehab stint from shoulder inflammation was cut short after just two appearances, the latter one on July 6. Crochet worked 95-97 with his fastball, mixing in his slider and his changeup. As long as you’re not expecting triple-digit heat anymore, he looked fine.
The Barons only have one series remaining after this week, but Charlotte’s season extends a week beyond that, so there’s plenty of time for Crochet to complete a rehab stint if his body is up to it. What that means for his role next season is less clear.
Durham 7, Charlotte 2
- José Rodríguez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Adam Hackenberg, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Nick Nastrini: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K, 4 WP, 40 of 78 pitches for strikes.
Biloxi 6, Birmingham 4
- Alsander Womack went 1-for-4 with a double.
- Colson Montgomery was 0-for-3 with an HBP.
- Bryan Ramos went 0-for-4.
- So did Wilfred Veras, with two strikeouts.
- Edgar Quero was 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Tim Elko, 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Terrell Tatum was 3-for-4.
- Yoelqui Céspedes, 1-for-3 with a K.
- Ky Bush: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 46 of 87 pitches for strikes.
- Garrett Crochet: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 9 of 15 pitches for strikes.
Hickory 7, Winston-Salem 6
- Loidel Chapelli homered, walked twice and struck out thrice.
- Jacob Burke doubled, singled, was plunked once and struck out twice.
- Brooks Baldwin went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
Kannapolis 12, Lynchburg 3
- Rikuu Nishida went 0-for-4 with two sac flies and two strikeouts.
- Eddie Park went 2-for-5 with a triple and a strikeout.
- Jacob Gonzalez, 2-for-3 with two walks.
- Calvin harris went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Jordan Sprinkle was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Aldrin Batista: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 41 of 71 pitches for strikes.
What would be really really great is like 1 day this year a few pitching prospects could manage to work into the 6th or 7th inning and not walk anyone. I know, I know it would be 2 miracles coming together as 1 to get a starting pitcher to actually throw 6 or more innings and probably an even bigger miracle to see said pitcher not walk anyone but I can pray.
Idle thought: Would a speed limit on pitches — e.g., anything over 98 is an automatic ball — reduce the plague of arm injuries?
According to an article I read on pitching biomechanics, the strain on elbows and shoulders of any human throwing 100mph is likely to cause injury. Not always, but a good chance. It seems MLB owners and players have accepted TJS and injuries as part of doing business. I actually find all the strikeouts boring. Baseball had an “arms race” and I don’t see it going back.
I would just like to see a few “pitchers” succeed. Maybe that’s asking for too much but watching guys chase sliders a foot out of the zone is boring. So is watching a pitcher throw 3 non-competitive pitches just to entice the hitter to chase one.
This reminds me of my old softball league where each team was only allowed two over-the-fence homers per game and any after that were considered outs.
I had that also. After we hit 2 we’d all switch-hit.
Crochet looks good for 1-inning of work. Crochet wants to try to be a starter. 2024 White Sox season not likely to hinge on “an elite LHRP”.
would it really matter if they let him be a “starter” / “opener” at the big league level… I mean look at the staff they are rolling out now… and no matter how much smoke the sox blow up our ass they arent contending in 2024
Why would he need to go to the minors to be stretched out? You are not going to have him start this year as there’s no time left. Otherwise he would follow the same off season program as any other SP if you want him to be a SP. He should only need to have to go to the minors if he needs to develop another pitch. If that’s the case then why make him a SP if he doesn’t have the pitches to be effective?
Should they do it? Should they try? I see no reason not to try, if he doesn’t make as a SP in ST then move him back to the pen.
Stretching him out in the minors allows him to actually figure out a five-day routine that works for him without the pressure of wins and losses, which is something that Carlos Rodón and Carson Fulmer weren’t afforded.
would they recoup a year of service time if he was in the minors for all of 2024?
He’ll be at 3.028 years of service time, so he’d only have to stay in the minors until the end of May. But that would effectively make him a Super Two, so in the best case scenario, the savings wouldn’t be what they typically are.
That’s not stretching him out, that’s more akin to him learning something new which then again why make him a SP if he doesn’t have the skills to do it? I know I’m being a bit pedantic but being stretched out should not be needed with an off season to properly prepare.
agreed on the stretched out nonsense, this isnt the 1980s or 90s and they need to get 250-300 innings out of him
if he were to convert to a starter and they got 100-120 innings from him in 2024 it would be deemed a success
he has all off season, all spring, gear up and lets go, you want to be a starter prove it!
its technically going to be his 5th year in pro ball although losing a part of a minor league season to covid and another year to injury hurt his growth
They could go the “opener” route and let him come in to start the second inning and see if he can get through 15 batters by his 5th or 6th appearance.