The White Sox should not use Michael Kopech as an opener

On Wednesday night, the Chicago White Sox were blown out by the Washington Nationals. The White Sox aren't a good team but getting blown out by a bad Washington Nationals team is horrible. That was also a series-losing game that pushed them that much closer to 100 losses.

The loss was certainly not the fault of Michael Kopech as he was the opener for the game. He only went 1.0 inning where he gave up one run on one hit and had a strikeout. In his defense, however, the run was unearned.

That run led to the Nationals having at least one run in each of the first five innings and a 12-1 lead. Kopech was only in for the first but it was just an objectively bad game for them in every way, shape, and form.

Michael Kopech should just not be an opener. That is not a role that will do well for him as they try to get the most out of him going forward. He came up as a starter and has had good moments in that role. However, he was a fantastic reliever in 2021. He was basically a super-weapon that year.

The White Sox need more from Michael Kopech than being an opener.

An opener is not a spot that you put someone that you have a lot of faith in. It feels like that makes it seem like he isn't good enough to be a full-blown starter or a full-blown reliever. That is not something the White Sox want to do to Kopech.

His future is cloudy right now. It is unclear what the best direction for him is but they are going to try it all. It is a shame that this is where we are with Kopech as he worked so hard to make it back to Major League Baseball.

Whether it is with another organization or not, Kopech has a lot of arm talent. Hopefully, someone can unlock it. That won't happen with him as an opener. This off-season ahead is huge for him. If he comes to camp ready and healthy, he still could become a very good pitcher.