Brewers Rumors: This lefty starting pitcher would be the perfect fit to aid rotation

After a great week at home for the Brewers, they closed out the weekend by sweeping the White Sox on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, on Monday came some not so great news. The Brewers, who already have been dealing with injuries to their starting rotation, found out that Robert Gasser is now dealing with elbow tightness.

This adds to a starting pitching rotation that features the likes of Brandon Woodruff, Joe Ross, Jakob Junis, and DL Hall, already on the injured list. With all of this being said, the Brewers still hold a record of 36-24. In order to stay competitive, they may need to look into acquiring a starting pitcher sooner than the July 30th deadline.

So the question for Milwaukee becomes who should they target? And while the answer is still unclear, one option is a pitcher the Brewers just faced this past weekend. Garrett Crochet looked filthy for the White Sox on Saturday against the Brewers. He dealt 6.0 innings and only gave up a single run, while striking out 8 in route to a no-decision. But who is this lefty and why would he make a good fit?

ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote in his Trade Deadline preview (subscription required) that the White Sox are willing to trade Crochet and that the Brewers would be a good fit for the electric left hander.

The asking price for Garrett Crochet may be the only thing to scare the Brewers away. However if they're serious about winning and making a deep post-season run, this might be a perfect move.

Crochet is only 24 years old, but has already just over three years of big league service. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft, from the University of Tennessee. Crochet has some filthy stuff, but it hasn't been easy for him to stay healthy.

After a really solid rookie season in 2021, where Crochet appeared 54 times and held a 2.82 ERA in 54.3 innings, he hasn't had a full season since. Crochet failed to pitch in 2022, after going through Tommy John surgery in April. He spent part of 2023 recovering from Tommy John, and then once healthy, managed to injure his shoulder, holding him to just 12.7 IP last season. The good news is that in 2024, Crochet has managed to stay healthy thus far, pitching 69.2 IP to the tune of a 3.49 ERA.

Even with those injury concerns, Crochet makes up for it with the filth he features on the mound. He uses four different pitches, Four Seamer (52.7%), Cutter (24.2%), Slider (15.4%), and a Changeup (7.7%). His fastball comes in at about 96.8 MPH, and has the ability to mix in an 84 MPH slider whenever he wants. Opponents in 2024 are hitting .150 against his fastball and .167 against the changeup. When you pair those two pitches with a 35.4% whiff against his cutter, and a 36% whiff against his slider, it makes him almost untouchable this season.

Another part of what makes Crochet so attractive to a suitor like the Brewers would be his availability past 2024. The Brewers look for guys to build around, and aren't known to ever put all their chips on the table for one season. Crochet isn't set to become a free agent until 2027. He'll be arbitration eligible for the next two seasons, which the Brewers would love.

It's obvious that he is a special talent, but will the Brewers be able to put together an offer good enough to acquire him? And if the Brewers don't, will anybody be able to acquire this 24 year old stud from the White Sox? It will be interesting to see what the White Sox do with him given their league worst record in baseball at 15-45.