Velocity drop increases importance of Garrett Crochet’s other pitches

(Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

Garrett Crochet occupies a strange in-between space during the White Sox bullpen’s fitful first month. He’s not the reason why it feels like Tony La Russa can’t turn to anybody in high-leverage situations, but he’s also short of the phenomenon who lit up radar guns and Statcast-centric sites and Twitter accounts last year.

Take Crochet’s work in extra innings this year. The White Sox are 0-2 when the game goes into the 10th, and Crochet has taken both losses. He didn’t pitch particularly poorly, the runs were unearned, and the White Sox offense was the bigger problem, but he also failed to strike out a batter in either appearance, which makes it easier for that runner on second to advance.

It also doesn’t help that you don’t want the ball hit anywhere near him. MLB.com lists four videos where Crochet is the primary fielder, and Crochet is 0-for-4. He should’ve had the out in at least three of them:

The through-line is Crochet’s reduced velocity, which increases the number of balls in play, which puts Crochet’s own PFP issues into starker relief. Statcast says his average fastball is down nearly four ticks, from 100.1 mph last year to 96.3 in 2021. That exaggerates the issue a little bit, because Crochet has been called upon for a couple of extended outings this year. The max velocity is a bigger issue. He’s topped out at 98.9 mph this year, whereas last year a very nice 69 of his 72 fastballs cleared that bar in his debut season.

The topic has been largely ignored, or at least set aside. If the pandemic didn’t exist and the White Sox beat could roam the clubhouse, a reporter would’ve gone up to him or Ethan Katz and asked what’s the deal. But since Crochet has spent the season in that area between “star” and “goat,” he’s not a go-to guy for the pregame and postgame Zoom conferences. The story from March where Katz said he “wouldn’t look too far” into Crochet’s velocity loss wasn’t designed to sustain inquiring minds for four weeks of ordinary aesthetics, because we only knew Crochet as extraordinary.

The update finally arrived on Wednesday, before the rainout that set up today’s straight doubleheader against Detroit. Tony La Russa said Katz and bullpen coach Curt Hasler have been heavily involved in reinforcing a repeatable delivery. For his part, Crochet deployed a little bit of fatalism about whether the serial hundoes are a thing of the past.

Crochet said “if 100 comes back, it comes back.”

“With adjusting to big league hitters, before I was throwing it as hard as I could in a general direction and then I felt like I needed to hone in and just be more of a pitcher than a thrower,” Crochet said. “That’s the main thing, I do feel a lot more like a pitcher right now. I feel very good about what I’m doing out there.

“I’m just trying to make it through 162 games with this being my first full season. Getting in the weight room, feeling stronger every day and as long as the arm’s feeling good, then I’m OK with whatever the velo board says.”

It should be noted that Crochet started 2020 injured with a shoulder issue at Tennessee, and he ended the year injured with a forearm strain that caused a Tommy John panic. It’s possible the delivery that generated that velocity spike is fundamentally unreliable, and so a greater overhaul is advisable. Year over year, you can see some tweaks. He’s still uses the big leg kick, but he’s holding his hands higher during the course of his windup, and his thrown hand doesn’t drop as far when he rears back before firing.

The results have been fine so far, but they’re just not enough to prop up a bullpen that’s taking on water elsewhere. He has twice as many free bases (three walks, one HBP) as he does strikeouts (two) over his last five appearances and 26 batters. Crochet admitted that his slider isn’t helping him right now, so he’s had to wring more value out of his changeup. That offspeed offering has better days than others when it comes to action — sometimes it just looks like a slow fastball — but he hasn’t given up a hit on it yet, so it’s successfully buying him time if nothing else.

After a year where he only had to throw very hard fastballs in the direction of home plate, he’s doing a decent job of improvising around a lack of bread or butter. His value has shown up in extended appearances, like his 2⅓ innings in the third game of the season, or his three innings bailing out Jonathan Stiever on Sunday, which earned him the MLB.com title of “Bleeding Reliever.” Crochet’s easier to touch now, but opponents aren’t exactly touching him up. The ground-ball rate remains strong, as does the exit velocity. Crochet’s holding his own when his entire appearance doesn’t live or die on the path of one batted ball.

The diminished state of his velocity raises questions. Some he can’t answer because it’s not his jurisdiction, like, “Who else in the bullpen can succeed in high-leverage situations?” Aaron Bummer has allowed the first batter to reach in six of his nine appearances, which is a bigger disappointment that does not involve Crochet. Another question — does this change his long-term outlook — is too far in the future, because we don’t yet know what he can do with his secondary pitches.

In the meantime, he can start to address the question of whether he can get more successful chases on his slider, because he can no longer rely on swings and misses with strikes.

  • Zone contact rate, 2020: 68.8%
  • Zone contact rate, 2021: 82.1%

If a better breaking ball is further in the future as well, then his changeup will have to continue doing the heavy lifting. It could be up to the task, as long as it’s not being used to help the White Sox escape sticky situations not of Crochet’s creation.

(Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

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fustercluck

Crochet’s not above using his own claret to get something sticky on the ball. Pitchers always looking for that edge

metasox

Is Crochet pitching well enough that the Sox won’t feel the need to seek out another bullpen lefty? Or maybe that depends on how the rest of the bullpen performs or what happens with Fry…

lifelongjd

MLB is a league of adjustments. If Crochet’s only skill was pumping straight fastballs at 101 and change ups at 92, hitters would have caught up fast. I like the strategic approach of becoming a pitcher rather than a flame thrower as it sets the kid up for a better chance at long term success. Plus, it beats losing him for an extended amount of time when he blows out his elbow throwing as hard as he can. His action will always get outs especially against lefties, so him developing on the fly is exactly what this team needs.

asinwreck

Lynn and Crochet both IL’d this month with upper back issues. I wonder if there’s something similar in their training routine that put new stresses on their upper backs?

Luis Robert can’t pitch, but at least he’s back to make the outfield resemble MLB quality again.

Just John

Upper back soreness < forearm tightness ?

asinwreck

Oh, way less concerning. Just not a type of injury I recall happening much in the Don Cooper era.

lifelongjd

For sure elite if he stays as a reliever for his career, in the Aroldis Chapman mode. I don’t know if he could keep the hair on fire approach and be a starter.

texag10

I’d like to introduce you to a man named Aroldis Chapman

lifelongjd

Yep, I just said same thing. Was driving towards him being a starter at some point. Similar to Sale’s journey

Foulkelore

No Robert in the first game’s lineup and, Hamilton and Garcia still starting. Tony’s aware he can change his lineup from what he submitted for last night’s game, right? Oh wait, he is, because Mercedes is now also out, and Lamb is hitting 5th. Cool. Playing lefty/righty splits is fine, but when they lead you to: Lamb/Garcia/Hamilton instead of Mercedes/Madrigal/Robert, you might want to reconsider your use of them.

As Cirensica

Lamb hitting fifth.
No Yermin.

7,8,9 are Collins-Hamilton-Garcia. Yikes.

Leury is gonna start in 120 games this year, am I right?

As Cirensica

Amazing. TLR can’t find a way to use Leury as he is intended.

Tony La Russa line up sheets has Leury Garcia name pre printed in all of them.

Last edited 2 years ago by As Cirensica
Joliet Orange Sox

I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.

dwjm3

I’ve had two different Cardinals fans tell me that LaRussa is prone to overplaying a veteran he perceives as a grinder. It appears Leury is our Skip Schumacher.

Last edited 2 years ago by dwjm3
Foulkelore

Wow … No, just wow

As Cirensica

I kinda feel about about it, but, what the heck, I can’t wait for Leury’s annual visit to the IL

joewho112

Did we already know Robert had the rona?

As Cirensica

I certainly didn’t know it. Players are not required to disclose this.

HallofFrank

You’ve got to hand it to Tony: not many managers could make us feel so dour about an over .500 team with a 4.5 game lead over the Twins.