Garrett Nolan Crochet (; born June 21, 1999) is an American professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
for the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
.
Crochet played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...
for the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...
and was selected by the White Sox with the 11th overall selection of the
2020 MLB draft
The 2020 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season standings. In ad ...
. He was called up in September 2020 by the White Sox to become the first MLB player in six years to reach the big leagues in the same year in which he was drafted.
Amateur career
Crochet grew up in
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi and west of Gautier, Mississippi, Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula metropolitan area. The population was 18,429 at th ...
, and attended
Ocean Springs High School
Ocean Springs High School is an International Baccalaureate, IB-certified public high school in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The school serves students in Educational stages, grades ninth grade, 9–twelfth grade, 12 and is part of the Ocean S ...
. During his junior season, he posted a 3–0
win–loss record Win–loss may refer to:
* Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action
* Win–loss record, also winning percentage
* Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...
with a 0.51
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) and 25
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
s in
innings pitched
In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...
. Following the season, Crochet initially committed to play
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...
at
Jones County Junior College
Jones College is a public community college in Ellisville, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and serves its eight-county district consisting of Clarke, Covington, G ...
. As a senior, he went 6–4 with a 1.48 ERA and 76 strikeouts to draw late recruiting interest from many top collegiate programs, including Texas and Tennessee. Crochet was selected by the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
in the 34th round of the
2017 Major League Baseball draft
The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...
, but chose not to sign and instead enrolled at Tennessee.
As a true freshman at Tennessee in 2018, Crochet appeared in 17 games with 11 starts, posting a 5–6 record with a 5.51 ERA and 62 strikeouts. In 2019, his sophomore year, he went 5–3 with a 4.02 ERA over 18 appearances (six starts), missing the SEC Tournament after suffering a broken jaw in his last regular season start. After the season Crochet was invited to training camp for the
United States Collegiate National Baseball Team, and entered his junior season as a first team preseason All-American by ''
Baseball America
''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...
'' and on the watch list for the
Golden Spikes Award
The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...
. Crochet missed the first three weeks of the season due to arm soreness, then appeared in one game before the college baseball season was cut short due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Professional career
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox selected Crochet in the first round, with the 11th overall selection, in the
2020 Major League Baseball draft
The 2020 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season standings. In ad ...
, and he signed a contract on June 22, 2020, that included a $4,547,500 bonus.
On September 18, 2020, Crochet became the first player from the 2020 MLB Draft class to be promoted to the major leagues. He is the 22nd player to go straight from the draft to the majors without playing in the minor leagues (the first since
Mike Leake in 2010) and was the first player to be promoted in their draft year since
Brandon Finnegan in 2014. With the
2020 Chicago White Sox, Crochet appeared in five games, not allowing a run in six innings pitched while consistently throwing . He came out of the bullpen to strike out both batters he faced in Chicago's 6–4 loss to the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
in the decisive Game 3 of the
2020 American League Wild Card Series before leaving with forearm tightness. Crochet had his first full season in 2021, when he recorded a 2.82 ERA with 65 strikeouts in innings. He would miss the entire 2022 season after undergoing
Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...
on April 2.
In 2023, Crochet made his return from surgery, appearing in 13 games and recording a 3.55 ERA with 12 strikeouts across innings pitched.
On March 18, 2024, Crochet was named the White Sox
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...
starting pitcher. In his first start, Crochet went 6 innings giving up 5 hits, one run, and striking out 8 batters in a 1–0 loss to the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
. He was named
MLB Pitcher of the Month for June that year becoming the 17th White Sox pitcher to do so. In the month of June, Crochet went 1–1 with an ERA of 1.91 with a 0.93 WHIP in innings while striking out 56 batters in six starts. On July 7, Crochet would be named to his first
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
in his career. In the first half of the season, Crochet was 6–6 with an 3.02 ERA and a WHIP of 0.95 in 20 starts in innings, while leading the league in strikeouts with 150 and strikeouts per 9 innings at 12.6.
Crochet made 32 starts for the White Sox in 2024, posting a 3.58 ERA with 209 strikeouts across 146 innings pitched, setting a new career-high. After the season, he was named
AL Comeback Player of the Year
The Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by Major League Baseball (MLB) to the player who is judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." The award was developed in 2005, as part of a s ...
.
Boston Red Sox
On December 11, 2024, Crochet was traded to the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
in exchange for prospects
Kyle Teel
Kyle Henry Teel (born February 15, 2002) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the f ...
,
Braden Montgomery,
Chase Meidroth, and
Wikelman González.
On March 27, 2025, Crochet was named the Red Sox
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...
starting pitcher. In his first start, Crochet went 5 innings, giving up 5 hits, two runs, and striking out 4 batters in a 5–2 victory against the
Texas Rangers. On March 31, 2025, it was reported that Crochet and the Red Sox had agreed to a 6-year contract extension worth $170 million. On June 1, Crochet went seven innings, throw a career–high 112 pitches, giving up five hits, one run, two walking two batters, and striking out a season–high 12 batters in a 3–1 victory against the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crochet, Garrett
1999 births
Living people
American League All-Stars
Baseball players from Mississippi
Birmingham Barons players
Boston Red Sox players
Charlotte Knights players
Chicago White Sox players
Major League Baseball pitchers
People from Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Sportspeople from Jackson County, Mississippi
Tennessee Volunteers baseball players
United States national baseball team players