White Sox top pitching prospect has solid two-inning performance in Spring Training debut against the Oakland Athletics on Monday.
Chicago White Sox top pitching prospect Michael Kopech lived up to his hype in his first spring training start on Monday. The tenth overall ranked prospect by mlbpipeline.com pitched two scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics while recording three strikeouts in the Sox 7-6 victory.
Kopech has gotten a lot of attention from Sox fans over the past year, and many of them are anticipating his promotion to the team later this year. The 21-year-old was able to have a good outing in his first start this spring. Kopech faced seven Athletics batters in his two innings of work and gave up just two hits.
More from White Sox News
- The Chicago White Sox might have had a season ending loss
- The Chicago White Sox are expecting Tim Anderson back soon
- Miguel Cairo’s words spark life into the Chicago White Sox
- Dylan Cease should be the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award
- Ozzie Guillen speaks the whole truth about Tony La Russa
White Sox reliever Luis Avilan also pitched well on Monday. Avilan, who was acquired this past offseason, pitched a scoreless inning against the Athletics and recorded two strikeouts. This was the left-hander’s first appearance of Spring Training. Dylan Covey was also able to pitch a scoreless inning as he pitched 1.1 innings while allowing no earned runs and no hits.
The White Sox were led on offense by Matt Davidson, Tyler Saladino, and Adam Engel on Monday. Each player had an extra-base hit against Oakland, with Davidson hitting an RBI double in the third inning. Saladino had two hits in the game and is currently hitting .571 in seven at-bats during spring training.
Next: White Sox offense off to nice start
Jake Burger, the team’s first-round draft pick from last year suffered an injury to his left Achilles. The 21-year-old was running towards first base after hitting a grounder towards third base in the third inning when he collapsed before reaching the base. Burger was carted off the field after suffering the injury. The White Sox announced Burger will undergo further evaluation and his status should be updated on Tuesday.