Red Sox' Garrett Crochet Predicted To Join Pedro Martínez, Roger Clemens

The Red Sox certainly are lucky to have Crochet now...

Apr 29, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; A view of the Boston Red Sox logo and a field bag during batting practice before the game between the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball right now in Garrett Crochet.

He's made just two starts so far in his Boston career, but he's already become must-see television. He's allowed just two earned runs across 13 innings pitched and has struck out 12 batters already. Crochet is a star and is coming off a season with the Chicago White Sox in which he had a 209-to-33 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 146 innings pitched.

If Crochet can stay healthy, he's going to get an opportunity to significantly surpass that innings threshold this year. That could lead to even better numbers than last year. ESPN recently ranked the top 100 players in the game and had Crochet at No. 37 and Bradford Doolittle predicted that Crochet will join Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, and Chris Sale with over 260 strikeouts in a season.

"On one hand, this ranking might be a bit enthusiastic for a pitcher who has been a big league starter for exactly one season and has never qualified for an ERA title," Doolittle said. "On the other hand, have you seen Crochet pitch? His final season with the White Sox was a strange one. He pitched as well as anyone for a half season, even as the team around him tumbled to historic depths. Then, with Chicago trading anyone and everyone, Crochet stayed put. But because the White Sox were hopelessly out of the running, his innings were kept to a minimum, even as he kept taking his regular turn in the rotation.

"According to Baseball Reference, there have been 4,325 pitchers making at least 32 starts in a season, dating back to 1871. None has finished with fewer innings than Crochet's 146. Yet he struck out 209 batters during those frames, leaving everyone wondering what he would do with a full workload. This season, we'll all find out. Season prediction: A massive strikeout total topping 260 whiffs. That would be the most by a Red Sox pitcher not named Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens or Chris Sale."

The sky is the limit for this guy.

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