Cut You In: Garrett Crochet Reaping Rewards of Pitch Mix Adjustments

Garrett Crochet is one of the very few bright spots for the 2024 Chicago White Sox. I'm not going to delve into the depths of this team's futility, we all see it daily. Instead, I want to take some time to talk about something that has actually gone right this year. The lanky lefty's transition to the starting rotation, minus three rough outings in late April/early May, has gone better than just about anyone could've anticipated.

I'm going to own up to the fact that I didn't believe in Crochet's ability to transition to the starting rotation going back several years at this point. But I'm glad to say I've been wrong, thus far. Unlike many of the obnoxious mouth-breathers on social media, I'll actually admit when I'm wrong about things. Particularly, if it's something that benefits the White Sox. You see, at the end of the day I care more about the Sox being successful — that seems like an oxymoron at this point — than I do about merely being right.

One particular reason I was skeptical about Crochet's ability to be an effective starting pitcher was his inconsistency with fastball control/command and a heavy reliance on that offering with some unflattering results. In the two seasons surrounding his Tommy John procedure in 2022, Crochet's fastball was getting hammered to the tune of a .355 xwOBA in 2021 and a ghastly .437 xwOBA in 2023. The quality of contact was of great concern since he was featuring his fastball with close to two-thirds of his pitch offerings in those seasons.

However, that has changed this season. Perhaps the addition of Brian Bannister to the organization has played a role in the changes to Crochet's pitching profile. Bannister's influence coupled with the transition to the rotation may have necessitated a deviation from Crochet's previous plan of attack. Whatever the factors ultimately were, the results have been everything we could've hoped for and more.

Cut to the Chase

As previously highlighted, Garrett Crochet heavily relied on his four-seam fastball while pitching out of the bullpen. His pitch usage looks vastly different in 2024 compared to his previous season's pitching in relief for the Pale Hose.

Garrett Crochet's pitch usage by season

Crochet's four-seam fastball usage is down a full 11% from last season to the lowest mark of his career. He's also cut his slider usage almost in half to the lowest rate since his initial call-up in 2020, just a few short weeks after being drafted. The difference in Crochet's profile this season is glaring, to say the least.

Adding the cutter has been a significant revelation for Crochet. On the season, he's throwing the pitch 24.2% of the time, and since his start on April 13, it's essentially become his primary secondary pitch. In that aforementioned start against the Cincinnati Reds, Crochet's slider and cutter were both used at an 18.5% clip. Since that outing, the cutter has outpaced the slider in every start.

In fact, Crochet's overall pitch usage pattern has undergone a drastic change since that Saturday afternoon against the Reds. If you break down his usage pattern month by month, there are some jarring trends that I wouldn't have anticipated.

Garrett Crochet's 2024 pitch usage by month

Granted, the data for June is going to be very skewed as he'll take the mound for only the second time this month on Friday against the Boston Red Sox. But there are clear changes that Crochet has made as the season has progressed. The slider has been a pitch that has taken a back seat when it used to be his premier secondary pitch. In numerous starts over the last month, his changeup usage has even outpaced the slider, something I don't think many would've anticipated heading into the season.

It's the constant evolution and adjustments throughout a 32- or 33-start campaign that makes for the best starting pitchers. Crochet is learning on the fly that you have to make tweaks to your approach to keep lineups off-balance as you work to navigate them multiple times, and in some instances, the same lineup in back-to-back outings.

Maximizing Effectiveness

I'd like to restate that Garrett Crochet's current four-pitch mix has been highly effective and is doing wonders to keep opposing hitters off balance when they step into the box against him. All four offerings have had excellent batted-ball profiles to this point, and they appear to be playing off each other very well. There's a nice velocity band that the pitches are falling into, which is a key factor in limiting damage against them to this point.

The southpaw's four-seam fastball, his primary offering, is averaging 96.8 MPH on the season, but his secondary offerings are providing enough variance along with their movement profiles to increase their effectiveness. The cutter, which is now serving as Crochet's main secondary pitch, is averaging 91.1 MPH, while the slider is coming in at a consistent 84.0 MPH, and the changeup is registering at 90.7 MPH.

If you think about grouping the four-seam with the changeup, there's a 6 MPH difference. These two pitches are going to have similar movement profiles, and pairing them at opposite quadrants of the strike zone helps them to play off one another. At the same time, the cutter and slider are going to have somewhat similar movement profiles but they maintain a 7 MPH velocity difference. Crochet has used the cutter and slider to bore in on the hands of right-handed hitters to this point, but the velocity variance, coupled with the larger break on the slider, is a main factor in keeping those pitches off of opposing barrels.

Swings and misses are coming from all four offerings at reasonable rates as well. Each pitch has a Whiff% of over 25% on the season, with the cutter and slider both registering over 35% due to the heavy reliance on attacking right-handed hitters on the inner third of the plate. Getting swings and misses at such a high rate with all four offerings is a sign that hitters aren't picking up the ball well out of his hand nor are they able to decipher tendencies on when they will thrown.

If you get to two strikes against Crochet, "Good luck" is all I have to say. He's striking out hitters at a 33.7% rate on the season, and his 94 overall strikeouts rank fourth in the league and will assuredly increase following his start against the Red Sox. But when he has hitters behind with two strikes, there's still a guessing game that they are playing in the box. Crochet has PutAway% (rate of 2-strike pitches that result in a strikeout) over 20% with each of his four offerings on the season. The newly added cutter is leading the way with a PutAway% at 34.7%!

Keeper?

So, what more can you really say about Garrett Crochet the starter? He's evolved as a pitcher and now has a four-pitch mix that's giving hitters fits. He's varying his usage profile as the season moves along, which will help prevent advanced scouting reports from picking up noticeable tendencies allowing for more effective game planning. And if you fall behind in the count against him, the odds aren't in your favor.

Crochet is everything the White Sox have wanted in a starting pitcher. His evolution has truly been a sight to behold this season. He has to serve as the best example of the organization's new pitching process at the Major League level thanks to the likes of Brian Bannister and Ethan Katz, and the introduction of the cutter has been a huge reason for his success in 2024.

As someone who truly cherishes dominant starting pitching and as trade winds begin to swirl around him, I know I wouldn't mind seeing him stay in the black and white for years to come.

Related: Measuring Garrett Crochet's Trade Value: Complex Factors at Play for White Sox, Suitors

Subscribe to On Tap Sports Net on YouTube and the Sox On Tap podcast for more Chicago White Sox content, updates, and hot takes!