(670 The Score) White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez had a disappointing performance in 2019, when he followed a strong 2018 campaign with an ugly 5.38 ERA, 15 losses and a 1.46 WHIP.
The good news for Lopez was that he made 33 starts and pitched 184 innings, the second straight year he took the ball for a full season. He posted a 3.91 ERA while making 32 starts and throwing 188 2/3 innings in 2018.
With some mechanical issues already addressed by him and pitching coach Don Cooper, the 26-year-old Lopez also went to the team psychologist for help on his concentration and moving on from negative results.
"He had to address the fact that things were not going the way he wanted them to," manager Rick Renteria said. "Always, conversations are being had as you try to get to what might be going on in a person's mind. At the end of the day, he was the one who had to determine what self-evaluation has to go well and seek outside perspective to balance things out. The first step of improvement is to analyze what has gone wrong and seek help."
So what breakthrough does Lopez hope to have found?
"I learned not to let negative thoughts get the best of you," Lopez said. "I learned to move forward."
Lopez allowed 35 homers last season, a poor trend that he knows he must turn around. Lopez reviewed his outings this past offseason to see where he missed with his location when he allowed homers and what type of pitch he was utilizing.
"I came to understand that right before those home runs were hit, something was bothering me and was on my mind," Lopez said. "Something was distracting me from concentrating on that next pitch or batter. I learned through the help I was getting to able to move on to what is next and move forward. The other part was to look at how many (home runs) were off of breaking balls or fastball. I need to do a better job of locating those pitches. The end result should be for me to be more confident and finish my pitches after I concentrate."
Lopez believes he showcased progress on this front in Cactus League play before the coronavirus halted spring training. On one occasion, he walked a series of batters in a poor outing. He then responded much better in his next start after a conversation with Cooper.
Lopez knows he'll need the same mindset in a unique 60-game season that comes with safety concerns and little margin for error for teams aiming to make the playoffs.
"This will be a crazy season, and we will have to deal with it," he said. "We must do our work but concentrate on keeping distance and respect the others on this team when we are out of the games."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
