Garrett Crochet settles in
Chicago's top draft pick this summer, Garrett Crochet, settled into his extended stay hotel room in Schaumburg on Thursday and weighed in on his first couple of weeks as a pro.
"It’s incredible, the veterans were very welcoming when I got here. The got me out of my shell a little bit," Crochet smiles. "I'm a pretty easygoing guy, once you get to know me I’ll talk your ear off. But most of what I can learn probably won’t come from me doing the talking, so I'm trying to do more listening."
Crochet reports feeling more and more comfortable, in camp, digesting the little tidbits of information he's been given. A lot of that has centered around his pitches; Crochet is developing a different look for his four-seam fastball, and is putting a changeup — a pitch he's been feeling out since last Christmas — into play.
"I’ve never really been coached into a specific pitch grip," he admits. "It’s been very easy to make adjustments."
Of course, as a "black box" site player, theoretically the White Sox could call Crochet into action in the majors this season. For all the focus on development and pitch experimentation, is MLB in the southpaw's mind?
"If it wasn’t in the back of my mind, I wouldn’t consider myself a competitor," Crochet says.
As for the most impressive player in Schaumburg, Crochet points at the player most fans are clamoring for in the bigs: Nick Madrigal.
"I'm sure that's not a surprise to hear," Crochet says. "He gets to a lot of pitches you don't expect him to."
With the majors at least a little bit more distant for Crochet than Madrigal, the pitcher is just laying low and learning the ways of the pros. And getting a pick-me-up from his bullpen big brothers when needed.
"The veterans, they’ve done a really good job of keeping me from feeling silly if I forget someone’s name," Crochet smiles.
For Crochet's first full media session as a pro, watch below, courtesy of the White Sox:
Actor (final credit: murdered by Albert Einstein in "Carnage Hall"), musician (Ethnocentric Republicans), and Nerf hoops champion, Wiffleball aficionado and onetime bilingual kindergarten teacher, Brett Ballantini also writes about baseball, basketball and sometimes hockey, for the NBA, MLB, NHL, and Slam, Hoop, Sporting News, the Athletic, SB Nation and others. He was CSN Chicago’s Blackhawks beat writer when their 49-year Stanley Cup drought ended in 2009-10, and took over the White Sox beat after that. He currently is the editor-in-chief of South Side Hit Pen and beat writer for Inside the Rays. He also wrote a book about Ozzie Guillén but is running out of space, so follow him on Twitter @BrettBallantini and he'll probably tell you even more about himself than you ever wanted to know.