Garrett Crochet's Comments Prove Red Sox Hit Jackpot With Connelly Early

There should be almost no way Early goes back to the minors

Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early (71) throws a pitch in the second inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, March 29, 2026. The game was scoreless after three innings. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Garrett Crochet was predictably the Boston Red Sox's most valuable pitcher from their opening series, but it also shouldn't be shocking that Connelly Early was right behind him.

Early gutted through 5 1/3 innings on Sunday, leaving the game without having allowed an earned run before Greg Weissert imploded. He wasn't efficient at all, throwing a career-high 96 pitches, but his compete factor was off the charts.

It's been easy to wonder if Early was pitching on borrowed time for his first few starts of the season. But if that performance wasn't enough proof that he deserves an extended opportunity to stay in the big leagues, Crochet's recent comments should be.

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Crochet hypes up Early during podcast appearance

Mar 26, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

In an interview with the "Play Tessie" podcast, Crochet said he loves to talk about the ins and outs of pitching with Early, going as far as to say that the 23-year-old southpaw has better command of his stuff and the strike zone than the reigning Cy Young runner-up.

"I really like talking shop with Early," Crochet said. "We have similar (arsenals), but we pitch different. It's interesting to hear his perspective as a guy who has, in my opinion, better pitchability than myself.

Garrett Crohet on Connelly Early being someone he likes to talk shop with:

“Similar arsenal but we pitch different. But it’s interesting to hear his perspective as a guy who has, in my opinion, better pitchability than myself.” pic.twitter.com/iBWi22iBPv

— Play Tessie (@PlayTessie) March 30, 2026

"He can backdoor the cutter a bit. He throws the change-up a lot more than I do, because I've never really had that as a weapon. So it's nice to kind of hear that side of things."

Crochet's comments were made during the last week of spring training, and the episode aired on Thursday. A clip circulated on Monday of Crochet hyping up Early, which drew widespread attention to the comment for the first time. But in a way, that only goes to show that we should expect excellence from Early at this point.

Yes, the Red Sox will get an extra year of service time for Early if they send him to the minors for 35 days this year. But they're also in the business of winning as many games as possible, and it's become crystal clear that Early is one of the five starting pitchers who gives them the best chance to accomplish that objective.

Boston got lucky with Early in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, and they shouldn't try to get cute by inventing an excuse to send him down.