The rare velocity of a pitcher who bypassed the minor leagues
In short: In 2020, Garrett Crochet achieved a feat unseen in the big leagues for six years. By jumping straight from the draft to the majors, he bypassed the minor league grind entirely, relying on a terrifying 100 mph fastball to command the mound.
Garrett Crochet’s ascent to Major League Baseball was remarkably direct. After being selected 11th overall by the Chicago White Sox in the 2020 MLB draft, he signed a contract on June 22, 2020, featuring a $4,547,500 bonus. By September 18, 2020, he was promoted to the majors, making him the first player from his draft class to reach the big leagues that same year. He was only the 22nd player in history to transition from the draft to the majors without any time spent in the minor leagues, a rarity not seen since Brandon Finnegan in 2014 and Mike Leake in 2010.
His path was not without significant physical hurdles. During his sophomore season at the University of Tennessee in 2019, a broken jaw forced him to miss the SEC Tournament. Later, his professional momentum was interrupted by Tommy John surgery on April 2, 2022, which sidelined him for the entire 2022 season. However, his resilience led to a dominant 2024 campaign with the White Sox, where he earned AL Comeback Player of the Year honors after recording 209 strikeouts and a 3.58 ERA across 146 innings.
A major trade on December 11, 2024, sent Crochet to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for several prospects. His 2025 season proved even more prolific; he secured a six-year, $170 million contract extension and achieved a career-high 255 strikeouts. Despite facing setbacks like a low-grade lat strain in 2026, Crochet remains a central figure in modern pitching, defined by his ability to strike out batters at an elite rate, including becoming the first pitcher to reach 250 strikeouts in the 2025 season.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Garrett Crochet
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