Kutter Crawford and his five-pitch “buffet”

[soxhop411]

I am going to use this story from Alex Speier today as a jumping off point to start a Kutter Crawford thread
View: https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/1680761072037376001?s=46

CHICAGO — As the Red Sox try to withstand a summer-long rotation crisis with two openers in every turn, the significance of Brayan Bello and James Paxton to their hopes of remaining in contention is obvious.

But at a time when the team has no major league-ready starting alternatives — hence those openers — the team likewise needs their least-mentioned starter, Kutter Crawford, to serve as another girder for the pitching staff. That was particularly true Sunday afternoon, one day after a Paxton start went sideways.

That being the case, Crawford’s outing — six shutout innings of one-hit ball with a career-high nine strikeouts in an 11-5 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field — represented a much-needed effort as the Sox try to keep pace with the field of postseason contenders.

Crawford was mindful of that need, particularly early in the outing, as he worked through wildness as well as a fastball that had both less zip (93 miles per hour, the second-lowest average four-seam velocity of his career) and hop than usual.

“I think we’re all aware [of the added responsibility of having three full-time starters] — Bello, Pax, and myself included,” Crawford said. “We’re trying to do the best we can and go as deep in the ballgame as possible.”

And so it was concerning for Crawford and the Sox when he opened the first inning by allowing a single and hitting a batter, his fastball repeatedly missing the strike zone by a sizable margin to the arm side. Where to turn?

Cora recently referred to Crawford’s five-pitch mix — a four-seamer, cutter, slider, curveball, and splitter — as a “buffet” that can lead to some misguided choices.

“We want to stay away from the Jell-O,” Crawford said.

On Sunday, when his four-seamer proved an unsatisfying entrée in the early innings, Crawford dived into the sides and left the Cubs starved for hits.

“I didn’t have a great feel for the fastball, so I had to go to other options,” he said. “That’s one of the good things about throwing five pitches.”

He escaped the first inning by getting Christopher Morel to strike out on a slider and then inducing an Ian Happ double-play grounder on a cutter. With two on and none out in the third, and with the Sox clinging to a 1-0 lead, he again turned to other pitches, striking out Nico Hoerner on a slider and then getting Morel to ground into a double play on a curveball.

Crawford (4-4, 3.74 ERA) showed a veteran’s poise in working through his early struggles while the game was close, finding his rhythm in the middle innings (he said the fourth marked a turning point when his mechanics, a bit wonky even in his final starts before the All-Star break, locked back in), then cruising through the latter part of his outing.

At different intervals, he turned to fastballs, cutters, curveballs, and splitters — and then judiciously unleashed a devastating slider. Of the nine sliders Crawford threw, seven resulted in swings and misses, helping Crawford to set .the career high in strikeouts as well as a new mark for swings and misses at 17.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/16/sports/kutter-crawford-delivers-another-big-start-part-shorthanded-rotation-keeping-red-sox-contention/
More at the link above.
With a bunch of our key SP on the IL Crawford has been a godsend helping keep this team afloat and as Alex notes in the above piece, as been maturing as a SP. Two years ago he was in AA!

 

[bosockboy]

Bronson Arroyo vibes.

 

[joe dokes]

He was really teetering early. Really showed something in straightening out.

 

[BaseballJones]

Crawford's 2023 by the numbers:

Total:

But..

First start: 4.0 ip, 8 h, 7 r, 7 er, 2 bb, 6 k, 15.75 era, 2.50 whip

Since then: 17 g, 63.1 ip, 51 h, 22 r, 21 er, 15 bb, 61 k, 2.98 era, 1.04 whip

Since then (starts only): 9 g, 41.2 ip, 40 h, 18 r, 17 er, 11 bb, 43 k, 3.67 era, 1.22 whip

He's been really, really good for the Sox this year.

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

Crawford's 2023 by the numbers:

Total:

But..

First start: 4.0 ip, 8 h, 7 r, 7 er, 2 bb, 6 k, 15.75 era, 2.50 whip

Since then: 17 g, 63.1 ip, 51 h, 22 r, 21 er, 15 bb, 61 k, 2.98 era, 1.04 whip

Since then (starts only): 9 g, 41.2 ip, 40 h, 18 r, 17 er, 11 bb, 43 k, 3.67 era, 1.22 whip

He's been really, really good for the Sox this year.

It’s hard to be noticed how bright you shine when you’re standing right next to a star…..

 

[BaseballJones]

Sox' young'uns this year:

C Wong (27): 83 ops+, 3.0 bWAR
1b Casas (23): 104 ops+, since May 3 - .278/.358/.500/.858, 9 hr
3b Devers (26): 124 ops+, 23 hr, 73 rbi
CF Duran (26): .318/.368/.515/.882, 134 ops+
RF Verdugo (27): .286/.356/.449/.806, 115 ops+, 3.0 bWAR
SP Crawford (27): 3.74 era, 1.13 whip, 9.0 k/9
SP Bello (23): 3.14 era, 1.20 whip, 7.8 k/9
RP Winckowski (25): 3.14 era, 51.2 ip
RP Murphy (25): 2.16 era, 9.2 k/9
SP Houck & Whitlock injured but have been valuable pitchers

Lots of good stuff happening this year, even as they remain at the bottom of the AL East. And the minors are flourishing this year. Lots of guys having great seasons so far.

 

[soxhop411]

He was really teetering early. Really showed something in straightening out.

Yup. Could have easily fallen apart in the first. Which shows how much he has matured as a player this year