The youngster who used to wind up and throw a baseball 104 miles per hour for fun is growing into quite the big league pitcher.
White Sox right-hander - and former Red Sox prospect - Michael Kopech threw five strong innings of one-run ball and earned the win in his team’s 8-4 victory against the Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday afternoon. It marked the second straight Sunday that Kopech made a spot start, but he went much deeper in this game, throwing 87 pitches, the most he had thrown in an MLB regular-season game.
"What impressed me was that Michael knew that we were shorthanded and he went out and gave us those five innings,” manager Tony La Russa said. “For him to step up and give us those five innings is a pressure performance over and above being a starter in a game we wanted to win.”
Kopech was dominant in striking out 10 and allowing four hits while walking none as he filled in for ace Lucas Giolito, whose start was pushed back a couple days after he recently cut a finger opening a bottle.
"When you see a guy with his kind of fastball able to get his curve, slider and changeup over for a strike, it's like catching a video game back there,” catcher Zack Collins said.
The White Sox have used Kopech out of the bullpen to open this season because they wanted him to build his workload up gradually after he missed 2019 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and then opted out of the 2020 season. The big-picture plan is for Kopech to land in the rotation as a full-time starter in 2022. La Russa again reiterated that postgame Sunday, saying there’s no plan right now to move Kopech into the starting rotation.
"He wants to be a part of a championship and contending team – he related that,” La Russa said. “What we are facing now going forward is a lot of days off. We are going to have to have some adjustments just for the guys who are already in the rotation. It's OK to get a little time off, but if it's too many days, that is not good for your timing. This is definitely not the time to think about moving Michael into the rotation. He needs to be one of those guys we rely on in the second half of the game. This is all for the good -- his good and our good.”
Kopech understands the bullpen and a hybrid role is what his job description entails right now, and he’s content with that.
“Of course if it was up to me, I would put myself out there every five days,” Kopech said. “We have an incredible rotation right now. The way things are going, I am happy coming out of the bullpen. I will take any role I can take on this team right now.
"If they call me tonight and say I need to be ready (Tuesday), I will be ready. That is just the mindset I have had the whole month. I will continue to that to the best of my ability and retain that mindset all season.”
Kopech, who turns 25 on Friday, has a 1.72 ERA and 0.70 WHIP in 15 2/3 innings this season. The White Sox have full trust in him in any situation, and for now, those situations will be primarily out of the bullpen. Later, it could mean something different.
"He will be used in important situations either as a starter or out of the bullpen,” La Russa said. “You will even see him pitch in the last part of the game. The more he is out there – whether it's in clutch relief or as a starter – goes into the bank for his future.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.