A Cy Young Award finalist in 2025 with the Chicago White Sox. As he aims to replicate that success and outshine Tarik Skubal this season, Boston Red Sox ace Skubal also has a chance to make MLB history.
On ESPN’s Baseball Tonight podcast, Paul “Hembo” Hembekides discussed The youngster potential with Buster Olney, suggesting he could accomplish something no pitcher has ever done: strike out 40% or more of all batters faced. “I think it might be the best stuff on the planet,” Hembekides said. Among 126 pitchers who threw at least 100 innings, Crochet ranked first in Stuff+, a metric that evaluates the physical characteristics of every pitch. Additionally, he led all pitchers in generating swings and misses within the strike zone, which experts consider an even better predictor of strikeout ability than chase rate.
In 2024, Crochet struck out 35.1% of batters, meaning he would need to improve to reach the 40% milestone. At just 25 years old, he has the potential to reach that mark. The closest any pitcher has come to achieving this feat was Gerrit Cole, who struck out 39.9% of batters in 2019 with the Houston Astros—at age 28, four years older than Crochet is now.
While FanGraphs currently projects no scenario in which Crochet finishes with a strikeout rate above 33%, that doesn’t mean he can’t defy expectations. He faced 595 batters in 2024 while averaging 4.56 innings per start. If he can improve his efficiency and pitch deeper into games, he might be on the verge of making MLB history.