Garrett Crochet‘s first career start will be one to remember.
The Chicago White Sox will hand the ball to Crochet on Opening Day, showing their faith in his transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation. The hard-throwing Crochet has made 72 career appearances, but all have come in relief.
That will change March 28 when the White Sox host the Detroit Tigers to start the season.
“Very shocked to say the least,” Crochet told reporters Monday. “I heard they had some exciting news for me, and I thought it was just that I’d made the rotation.”
The White Sox didn’t have any obvious candidates for Opening Day after they traded Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres last week. The 24-year-old Crochet has made an impression this spring by striking out 12 and walking none in nine scoreless innings, though he has started in only one of his four Cactus League appearances.
Crochet, a 6-foot-6 left-hander, was selected by Chicago with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft out of the University of Tennessee. He missed the 2022 season while he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
For his career, he owns a 3-7 record with a 2.71 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 73 innings. Now he gets to show what he can do as a starter.
“It’s humbling and very gratifying,” Crochet said. “I worked my tail off this spring, had a lot of solid veterans to lean on this camp and was able to put together a good couple of outings. I feel like I earned it. I feel like I’ve kind of been waiting for this moment but didn’t really know if it would come, so to be awarded this, it’s a huge honor.”
