MLB Notebook: Red Sox' Garrett Crochet's velo is up, Dustin Pedroia in town, Payton Tolle and Brandon Clarke crack top 100 prospects list, along with a look around the league

Garrett Crochet has solidified himself as the Sox' ace through nine starts this season. The left-hander delivered a strong outing in Boston's 10-1 win over the Royals on Saturday night, tossing seven frames, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out nine and walking one.

He’s improved to 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA through his first nine starts to begin the season.

It was an important start for Crochet, who is coming off a five-inning outing against the Twins in his last appearance. He struggled for five innings, surrendering one run and two walks, and experienced a decrease in his velocity.

“Those guys, they know what is needed,” said Alex Cora. “It takes probably 110 pitches. I think he did an amazing job pounding the strike zone. One walk in seven innings.

“You saw the punchouts. I think the action of his pitches were better than the last few starts. He gave us more than enough ... That’s what he’s here for.”

After the Sox bullpen suffered a 12-inning loss in extra innings on Friday night, Crochet pitched seven frames and 108 pitches. He threw his hardest pitch of the season, a 98.5 mph fastball, to Jonathan India, who promptly fouled it off.

“I see the swings. They were late,” said Cora. “There were swings and misses, and he expanded with the breaking ball. He did a good job.”

The increased velocity was an encouraging sign, with his fastball looking the best it has all season. In his last start versus the Twins at home, he averaged 94 mph from his four-seam heater. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.7 mph, per Statcast. It was up from his season average and he also got nine whiffs and threw the pitch 53 times.

“I know my velo has been down, but at the same time, it’s no surprise,” Crochet said. “That’s who I am. Sometimes, to throw harder, you have to throw harder. That’s the mentality I walked in there today with.

“Directionally, I was very sound. Just had a couple of cues, watching video, I picked up on, that made me feel like I was getting back to myself.”

He’s the second Red Sox pitcher in team history to record 50+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA in his first nine starts with the club, joining Pedro Martinez.

RED SOX NOTES

- Rob Refsnyder hasn’t played since May 1 because of back spasms.

“I’m getting there,” Refsnyder said. “It’s a lot better.”

He’s been improving the last couple of days and appears to have avoided an IL stint. With the Sox lined up to face Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale in the coming days, Refsnyder, the lefty specialist at the plate, is expected to be ready for those games.

Cora held Refsnyder out of the game on Saturday against Cole Ragans.

“This happened a few days ago. A little bit tight,” Cora said. “We needed him yesterday, to be honest with you, not before that. It’s part of 162. He should be OK. He swung the bat today in the cage, feeling a lot better. We expect him to start over the week. Not tonight, of course. But we’ve got (Tarik) Skubal, and we’ve got Chris (Sale) coming up, so he’ll be ready.”

- Kristian Campbell went 0-for-5 on Saturday and was one of two Sox’ hitters to not record a hit in the blowout win versus the Royals. Since moving up in the lineup to the cleanup spot, he has been struggling, going 3-for-26 with one RBI.

- Walker Buehler appears to be nearing activation for the upcoming series against the Mets (May 19-21).

“It won’t be on this trip,“ Cora said. ”It’ll be on the homestand... Probably, the Mets series.”

He has been dealing with right shoulder bursitis and has been ramping up his throwing progression.

“He played catch yesterday,” Cora said. “I think he’s getting off the mound either tomorrow or Monday.”

- Richard Fitts (right pectoral strain) is also trending in the right direction. He has not faced a live batter yet and has now been out for almost a month since April 13.

“He threw a bullpen during the week. He’s feeling better,” Cora said. “I don’t know what’s next for him. An up-and-down, probably Monday, so he’s trending in the right direction.”

- Kutter Crawford (right patellar) threw another live batting practice in Fort Myers on Friday. He’s inching closer to beginning a rehab assignment in the near future.

“He’s doing good,” Cora said. “I don’t know what’ll be the next step but they feel good the way it went.”

- After receiving a cortisone shot on Sunday, Masataka Yoshida, recovering from right shoulder surgery, has not received clearance to resume his throwing program.

“When I stretch out to 120 feet, that’s when I kind of feel the pain,” Yoshida said through translator Yutaro Yamaguchi last Tuesday from Fenway Park.

Yoshida maintains he has no issues with being able to hit. If the Sox were going to activate him, he could DH. Unfortunately, Boston’s current DH doesn’t want to move off his current role and learn to play first base.

“As far as the hitting, no problem,” said Yoshida.

DOWN ON THE FARM

The Red Sox made pitching their priority in last summer’s amateur draft, selecting 14 pitchers over the 20 rounds to continue to replenish the farm system’s new pipeline.

Two of those selections are attracting attention and have made it into Baseball America's Top 100 prospect rankings.

Left-handed pitchers Payton Tolle and Brandon Clarke, both selected in the first five rounds, have gotten off to fantastic starts.

Tolle, the Red Sox’ second-round pick, broke into the top-100 ranking at No. 96. The 6-foot-6 southpaw out of TCU, whose fastball sits at 98 mph, was a tough-luck loser in the Greenville Drive’s 2-0 loss on Saturday night. He worked five solid innings where he allowed just one earned run, five hits, and one walk while striking out five. The 22-year-old owns a 3.66 ERA over 19 2/3 innings with 34 strikeouts to six walks.

One of his best performances came this past Sunday when he struck out 12 of the 18 batters he faced. In addition to his fastball, Tolle features a changeup, slider, and sweeper.

Clarke was an unknown coming out of the draft, playing college ball at State College of Florida, and wasn’t ranked as a Sox’ top prospect coming into the spring.

As soon as he took the mound in the Spring Breakout game, he captured attention. Facing the Rays' best prospects, he featured a 99 mph fastball in the outing. Since the exhibition game, he’s been outstanding, earning a promotion to High-A Greenville, pitching in the same rotation as Tolle.

In four games this season, he owns an eye-popping 0.63 ERA with 24 strikeouts to just two walks in 14 1/3 innings (four starts).

The two players join Roman Anthony (1), Kristian Campbell (3), Marcelo Mayer (9), and Franklin Arias (68), although Campbell needs only a handful more at-bats to graduate from prospect status and drop out of the rankings. 

The Red Sox now have six prospects within the top 100.

With the emergence of Tolle and Clarke, the Sox can add them to the mix of young pitching prospects in their system to go along with Connelly Early, David Sandlin, Juan Valera, Hayden Mullins, and Luis Perales.

PEDROIA IN TOWN

Former Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was around the team for the second straight day before they faced the Royals.

The four-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove Award winner doesn’t have a role with the organization but called Cora and said he was going to be in town for the weekend with his wife, Kelli, and kids.

“He called me last week,” said Cora. “They had the weekend off as far as sports. He was like, ‘Want me to go to Kansas City?’ I was like, ‘It’s up to you. It’s your family.’ He came here with the boys. Just wanted to be around with Kelli, Mother’s Day. We had a good time yesterday with him. He’s around today.”

Pedroia has made appearances around the team during spring training in the past and was recently elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Cora has an open invitation to Pedroia to be around the Sox.

Another reason Pedroia was in Kansas City was to reconnect with Witt Jr., whose father Bobby Witt was his first agent.

“He wanted to see the Red Sox, but they wanted to meet Witt, too,” said Cora. “It’s good for the kids. The kids know what’s going on. They know the good players and the bad managers.”

AROUND THE LEAGUE

 - Bobby Dalbec has found a new home. The former Red Sox first baseman signed a minor league deal with the Brewers and was assigned to Triple-A Nashville.

The White Sox designated Dalbec for assignment on May 4. He elected free agency two days later, cleared waivers, and was outright to Triple-A Charlotte. The 29-year-old slugger went 4-for-18 (.222) with one double, one RBI, two runs, three walks, and six strikeouts in seven games.

- Braden Montgomery is dominating the pitching in High-A.

Montgomery, one of the prospects traded in the Crochet deal, recently received a promotion to High-A Winston-Salem and is making an impact at the plate. In 11 games, the former Red Sox first-round pick is hitting .385 with three homers, 11 RBI, five walks, 29 total bases, 15 walks, and a 1.201 OPS.

Despite Kyle Teel being the other impact prospect in the trade, Montgomery has the potential to be the key component of the Crochet deal.

Baseball America has Montgomery listed as their No. 60 prospect in the game.

“The switch-hitting Montgomery has shown plus power in his short professional career with a 106.4 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and strong swing decisions to match,” Baseball America wrote. “Montgomery has 30-homer upside if he continues to manage his whiffs, which have plagued him at times in the past.”

- The Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton on Thursday, just one day after the club suffered their seventh consecutive loss, dropping them to 12-26.

Bench coach Don Kelly was promoted to manager to replace Shelton. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington did not label Kelly as an interim manager.

“It’s permanent for 2025. We’re focused on 2025 and not getting past 2025,” Cherington said. “Because it became clear that it’s permanent for 2025, we chose not to use any other words to describe it. I have a lot of confidence in him doing that job for 2025.”

- Paul Skenes didn’t mince words following the departure of his skipper, saying he wasn’t “shocked” by the move.

"We're 12-26. Someone's gotta be held accountable," he told reporters Friday. "Unfortunately, right now, it's him."

Even with replacing the manager, the Pirates' ace knows it’s ultimately on the players.

"Just how it goes. I don't know if it fixes the root of the issue. We just need to play better," he added.