Gamethread: Pirates at White Sox

Garrett Crochet has his last start before he travels to the All-Star Game; when will the brakes be pumped?

Garrett Crochet leads the American League with 19 starts, and after today will continue to lead the league, with 20 starts. To be fair, at the moment the southpaw is tied with every AL starter who has not missed a turn yet this season, and despite pitcher injuries being as common as peanuts and Cracker Jack today that list is still fairly long.

But it does beg the question of what exactly are the White Sox doing? Crochet has blown past the midway mark for starts this season (does anyone throw more than 32 starts any longer?), with caution to the wind. He hasn’t missed a turn and thus has thrown every game this year on four or five days’ rest. Unlike, say, vaunted pitching prospect Noah Schultz and his strict 60-ish pitch count, Crochet is averaging 89 pitches per start and has thrown at least 88 in 10 of his past 12 starts (the other two were 85-pitch games).

All credit due to the phenom, of course, but Crochet did just start a handful of games in a brief college career — he wasn’t even a high school starter. And he’s weathered 105 1⁄3 innings very strongly, showing no cracks as he barrels toward next week’s All-Star Game.

But whether in preparation for a trade (little point in dealing for even an All-Star if he’ll be gassed once he gets off of the plane) or for a long-term career in Chicago, when exactly will the White Sox pump the brakes?

The Pirates are throwing TBA as of this writing, but Crochet might as well be TBA as well given the ONE at-bat Pittsburgh hitters have had against him.

It is a 7:10 p.m. start, available at NBCSCH and WMVP-AM 1000.