Chicago White Sox: Michael Kopech looks great throwing
The Chicago White Sox have an absolute stud in Michael Kopech. He has high hopes going into 2021 but the road to this point has not been easy. In 2018, he made his MLB debut late in a season where the White Sox were going nowhere. All of his starts were electric but he eventually was put on the shelf because of his Tommy John surgery. That cost the rest of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 season which was tough news right off the bat.
It looked like he would be back in 2020 during Spring Training. He was really good in his one appearance before COVID-19 shut them down. He opted out of the 60 game season so 2021 become the year that we are waiting for in terms of his return. He is a big part of this team’s future so getting him well was the most important thing.
What makes Kopech worth the wait? Well, of course, it is the stuff. He can throw the ball north of 100 miles per hour and mix it with the offspeed stuff very well. He can also get his 100 miles per hour fastball to move across the strikezone which is incredibly impressive. Not many prospects in the world can do what he can do. If he can harness this stuff at the Major League level, he will be an ace. With some of the other studs the White Sox have, that is really exciting to think about.
On day one of Spring Training for pitchers and catchers, Kopech was one of the pitchers to get a bullpen session right away. There were many reports out there about how he looked all offseason but it was nice to finally see him throwing for real. The White Sox are able to surround him with good talent and good coaching so this might go really well for everyone.
Michael Kopech is looking good on the mound.
— Southside Showdown (@SoxShowdown) February 17, 2021
pic.twitter.com/vuBUlafNcD
Hahn not getting into too much detail about the plan for Kopech until they sit down and talk to him directly. View him as long term premium starter but have to be creative how they use him to get him to Chicago and have him finish the year strong.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) February 17, 2021
It is the plan for Kopech to play with the big club this season. They might ease him in early on but they want him to finish off the year strong while helping them win at the same time. He might show them that he is good to go pretty quick because he is that good. Everything is on the table with him as they look to get his career going.
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As you can see in the video, he is looking good on that mound. Very few pitchers in the White Sox organization have the talent that he does. It doesn’t look like he is holding anything back anymore and that is a great sign. Hopefully, he continues to progress because White Sox fans would surely benefit if he does.