Chris Sale isn't the only Florida Gulf Coast University baseball program alum with a sub-3.00 ERA in the Red Sox organization.

Meet Kutter Crawford, who Boston drafted out of FGCU in the 16th round in 2017.

"I hope he's got a cutter," said Sale, who has spoken with Crawford a few times but was unaware of his repertoire.

Crawford does feature a cutter/slider combination. He also throws a fastball, curveball and changeup. The long-haired 22-year-old has posted a 2.91 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .233 opponent batting average, 73 strikeouts and 20 walks in 13 starts (68 innings) for Low-A Greenville.

The righty has averaged 9.7 strikeouts and 2.6 walks per nine innings. He made the South Atlantic League All-Star team. And he knew the importance of a strong first full professional season. He wants to show the Red Sox he's not a 16th-round talent but instead a legit prospect.

"I was a little disappointed in the draft last year, how low I went," Crawford said. "There's two kids in my conference that went top four rounds that were pitchers also and I had better numbers than most of them. So being the 16th rounder, it's definitely a motivational factor that I have something to prove. I want to prove people wrong because I'm better than just a 16th rounder."

Crawford listed Mets star Jacob deGrom as his favorite athlete on his FGCU athlete profile. Did Crawford begin growing out his hair in part because of deGrom and others on the Mets starting staff, including Noah Syndergaard?

"Not really, but then again, they stood out for their hair," Crawford said. "So I wouldn't say it's after them but I kind of want to stand out. I don't want to be your typical cookie-cutter player. I want to stand out and turn heads."

A midseason promotion to High-A Salem certainly seems like a possibility.

"I mean, I'm hoping so," he said. "I'm trying to move up as quickly as possible. But I know some things happen. But my main goal for the rest of the season is just to stay healthy. And if I can stay healthy and stay off the DL, I think a lot of the other things will kind of work out."

Sale pumped for Crawford, FGCU

Sale is pumped about Crawford's success.

"It's fun to watch," Sale said. "It's good for schools like that. Everyone expects the Floridas and Florida States and all the big name (schools), the SEC, the ACC ... to produce these guys.

"But when you can get a smaller school and a smaller conference to start to match that, it's exciting," Sale added. "The pool starts to get a little bit bigger. Instead of the talent all going to these big-name schools, it's like, 'Oh, well FGC has got a good program. They develop players really well.' It's fun to see. I'm excited for the program."

Crawford's 99 strikeouts as a junior in 2017 ranks the third most in a season in Florida Gulf Coast program history behind only Sale's 146 strikeouts his junior year in 2010 and Sale's 104 punch-outs his sophomore season in 2009.

"He's kind of the main reason people know about Florida Gulf Coast University besides the fact of the whole Dunk City thing," Crawford said about Sale.

Sale texted Crawford after the draft

Crawford transferred to Florida Gulf Coast from Indian River State College. He spent one year at FGCU, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.71 ERA in 15 games (13 starts) before Boston drafted him.

"He (Sale) actually texted me a couple days after I got drafted to say congrats," Crawford said. "So it was pretty cool for him to do that, to reach out to me."

Sale works out during winters with 2018 Florida Gulf Coast graduate Mario Leon, who pitched four seasons for the Eagles. Leon lives in Naples, Fla., where Sale resides during the offseason.

"During the winter, I go back and forth from Florida Gulf Coast and see the guys and stuff like that," Sale said. "So I'd see him (Crawford) there and say, 'What's up?' And then when he got drafted, Mario sent me his number and we were texting back and forth. And then when I saw him in spring training, just catching up."

'I have such a high expectation for myself'

Crawford, whose top secondary pitch is his cutter/slider combo, said how well he has pitched is "a little bit of a shock."

"But at the same time it almost isn't because I have such a high expectation for myself," he said.

He also added, "I didn't plan on stepping on the mound and being unsuccessful."

Crawford's given name is Kutter. It's not a nickname.

"I'm not really too sure where they (parents) got the name Kutter from," Crawford said. "They were sports fans growing up. They enjoyed baseball. So I don't know if it was after the actual pitch."

Crawford's main goal entering this year was to stay healthy. His brother Jonathon Crawford was a 2013 first-round draft pick (20th overall to the Tigers) out of Florida. But he dealt with shoulder problems and underwent labrum surgery.

"My offseason I focused on working out and the proper conditioning, and my shoulder program so I can make it a full season," he said.