he is worthy

Ace is a status that must be earned. And Garrett Crochet did exactly that in his first season with Boston, which traded a boatload of prospects to get the Ocean Springs native from the Chicago White Sox last off-season. Crochet went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA for a playoff team. In just his second year as a starter, he led the American League in quality starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He finished second in the Cy Young Award voting to Tarik Skubal, garnering four of the 30 first-place votes. The lefty also made the All-MLB first team. Crochet’s season — one of the best ever by a Mississippi-born pitcher — is worthy of the Cool Papa Bell Award, given here for the top performance by a Mississippian (native or school alum) in the big leagues. “He was phenomenal,” Craig Breslow, the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer, recently told mlb.com. “It’s what we had hoped he could be when we traded for him, but to see that actually materialize is great.” Crochet’s second-place finish in the Cy Young voting is the best by a Mississippi native. Weir’s Roy Oswalt placed third in 2004. Crochet was two wins shy of becoming the sixth Magnolia State native to win 20. That club includes Reb Russell (22 in 1913), Guy Bush (20 in ’33), Claude Passeau (20 in ’40), Boo Ferriss (21 in 1945 and 25 in ’46) and Oswalt (20 in both 2004 and ’05). … Other winners of AMB’s Bell Award: Brent Rooker, Justin Steele, Austin Riley, Tim Anderson, Corey Dickerson, Mitch Moreland, Brian Dozier, Desmond Jennings, Lance Lynn, Cliff Lee, Oswalt and Chris Coghlan. P.S. Nick Sandlin, former Ferriss Trophy winner out of Southern Miss, has been outrighted off the 40-man roster to Triple-A by Toronto. Sandlin, in his first year with the Blue Jays, had a 2.20 ERA in 19 games but ended the regular season on the injured list and missed the postseason. … It’ll be interesting to see if former USM pitcher Tyler Stuart and ex-DeSoto Central High slugger Blaze Jordan make the 40-man roster in their respective organizations. Both would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft next month if they aren’t protected on the big league roster. Stuart, a 6-foot-9 right-hander, went 2-2 with a 4.29 ERA in 10 games in an injury-curtailed 2025 season in the Washington system. He has a career 3.44 ERA and has pitched in Triple-A. Jordan, St. Louis’ No. 18 prospect, belted a career-high 19 homers in 2025, playing in Triple-A in both the Boston and Cardinals systems. Still only 22 years old, the fifth-year pro hit .270 with 99 RBIs all told last season. … Madison Central High alum Braden Montgomery compiled some amazing numbers in the Arizona Fall League. The White Sox’s top prospect went 15-for-41 (.366) in 12 games for Glendale, with a homer, six doubles, a triple, 11 RBIs, 12 runs, three steals and 13 walks. His OBP was .527. A switch-hitting outfielder, Montgomery batted .270 with 12 homers and 68 RBIs over three minor league levels in his first pro season. (He was acquired by the ChiSox in the Crochet trade with Boston.) … Brandon Woodruff, the ex-Mississippi State standout from Wheeler, has until Nov. 18 to make a decision on the one-year/$22.025 million qualifying offer he received from Milwaukee. Woodruff, who has spent his entire pro career in the Brewers’ system, became a free agent after the World Series ended. … MSU’s 2026 signing class was ranked No. 8 by Baseball America. The feature signee is catcher Will Brick from Memphis; he ranks among the top 10 prep prospects on Perfect Game’s latest chart.