The White Sox may have gotten the steal of the draft when they picked Garrett Crochet in the first-round. According to Jim Callis, senior writer at MLB Pipeline, the Sox were fortunate that Crochet fell all the way to No. 11 where Rick Hahn was picking.
"To be honest, in a normal season they wouldn't have gotten him at 11," Callis said on SportsTalk Live on Friday evening. "Before we knew coronavirus was going to shut things down, he had very mild shoulder soreness so Tennessee said, ‘We're going to play this cautious and keep him ready for the SEC season.'
"So he didn't pitch for the first three weeks, and as it turned out he only pitched once before the season got shut down. So I think in a normal year, he comes back, he shows everyone he's healthy, he dominates the SEC and he doesn't get to 11."
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Will Hahn's gamble on Crochet being ok pay off?
Baseball America named Crochet a preseason first-team All-American and this to say about the prospect.
"Crochet ran up a 4.77 ERA in 128.2 innings as a starter and reliever in his first two seasons at Tennessee. Still, scouts loved the progress he showed last fall and think he might have the best fastball in the country. It's an upper-90s heater that explodes out of his 6-foot-5 frame.
"Crochet has also flashed plus with his slider, but he will need to improve the consistency and control of his breaking pitch this spring."
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Jim Callis explains why White Sox were fortunate to draft Garrett Crochet originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
