Kyle Crockett Gets The Call

After just 36 games, covering 40 innings, Kyle Crockett has reached the bigs. Those 40 innings are nothing short of spectacular. He's given up just 2 ER (and 1 unearned run). He's struck out 49 batters while walking just 8. He's given up just 24 hits. His career minor league ERA is 0.45 and his career WHIP is 0.79. In case those numbers don't mean a whole lot to you, they are amazing. Otherworldly even.

In reaching the majors so quickly, he becomes the first member of last year's draft class to reach the big leagues. The Indians' bullpen has been solid this year, and they already have 2 lefties out there, so he may not see much action, at least not initially. The last place Indians problem has largely been their starting pitching. Then again, their closer (John Axford) has struggled a bit (1.71 WHIP), so maybe Kyle will get a shot at the closer job. You have to assume they wouldn't have called him up for no reason.

Kyle and the Indians face off against Sean Doolittle and the Oakland Athletics tonight. Doolittle has been lights out over the past 3 weeks, and has yet to walk a batter this season. He is part of a 3 man rotation at closer, and has 2 saves on the season.