KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The shortened 2020 Major League Baseball season is drawing to a close. With only a few games remaining, a handful of teams have already clinched spots in the postseason, which is set to begin on Oct. 5.
The big news this week was the Major League debut of Garrett Crochet. The hard-throwing lefty turned heads in his first professional appearance, pitching a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts on Sept. 18 against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Ocean Springs, Mississippi, native was the first player from the 2020 MLB Draft to make his MLB debut and became the first pitcher to go straight to the big leagues in his draft year since 1978.
Scroll down to find out more about Crochet’s first few games and how other former Vols in the MLB are faring this season.
Check UTSports.com for updates throughout the season.
Garrett Crochet — LHP, Chicago White Sox
Season: 2 App, 0 GS, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.50 WHIP
As stated above, Crochet had a memorable debut last Friday, retiring the side in order in his one inning of relief. Crochet struck out the first two batters of the inning with 100 and 101 mph fastballs, respectively. He made his second appearance of the year in Sunday’s loss to the Reds, allowing just one hit in a scoreless inning of relief.
The White Sox have already secured a playoff spot and would be the No. 2 seed in the American League if the season ended today.
Zack Godley — RHP, Boston Red Sox
Season: 8 App, 7 GS, 0-4, 8.16 ERA, 28.2 IP, 42 H, 26 R, 26 ER, 14 BB, 28 K, 1.95 WHIP
Despite a decent start to the year, Godley has had a challenging season for a struggling Red Sox team that has one of the worst records in baseball. In his most recent outing, Godley have up four runs on five hits in three innings of work in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays (Sept. 4). He was placed on the 60-day injured list on Sept. 19.
Yan Gomes — C, Washington Nationals
Season: 25 G, 92 AB, 11 R, 24 H, 40 TB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 5 BB, 19 K, 1 SB, .261 AVG, .300 OBP, .435 SLG
Gomes has put together a solid season for the struggling Nationals. The veteran backstop was one of the team’s top hitters in August, when he slashed .314/.364/.549, scored eight runs, had seven extra-base hits and drove in seven runs. Gomes has cooled off a bit in September, but still has recorded eight hits, homered once and driven in four runs this month.
Nick Senzel — OF, Cincinnati Reds
Season: 19 G, 59 AB, 7 R, 12 H, 24 TB, 6 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 BB, 12 K, 2 SB, .203 AVG, .273 OBP, .407 SLG
Senzel returned to the Reds’ lineup on Sept. 14 after spending a month on the injured list. The second-year outfielder has played in five games since returning, collecting just one hit in that time. Senzel and Crochet faced off on Sunday, with Crochet retiring Senzel on a long flyout to left field.
Cincinnati is currently in line for a playoff spot, entering today’s game against Milwaukee as the No. 7 seed in the National League.
Drew Steckenrider — RHP, Miami Marlins
Season: N/A
On July 23, Steckenrider was placed on the 60-day injured list with right triceps tendonitis and has not seen action this season.
The Marlins currently hold the No. 5 seed in the National League.
Christian Stewart — OF, Detroit Tigers
Season: 33 G, 82 AB, 6 R, 14 H, 26 TB, 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 27 K, .171 AVG, .233 OBP, .317 SLG
After struggling in August, Stewart had a strong start to the month of September with hits in three straight games, including his third homer of the year in Detroit’s 12-1 win over Milwaukee on Sept. 1. However, Stewart did not record a hit in his next five games before being optioned to the Tigers Alternate Training Site on Sept. 9.
Detroit is 22-30 this season and will not advance to the postseason.
-UT Athletics
