White Sox 22-year-old phenom Michael Kopech displayed the kind of stuff on Sunday that we’ve been hearing about for quite some time. In his second start, he breezed through the Detroit Tigers lineup using his fastball an overwhelming majority of the time. And although he didn’t have command of his secondary stuff, he went to it enough to keep the Tigers off balance and dominate with his fastball.
Kopech is done for the day: 6 IP, 7 H, ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 61 of 86 for strikes, 10 swings and misses
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) August 26, 2018
Kopech went to his fastball 64 percent of the time and dabbled with his slider a mear 29 percent. It was clear that he didn’t have command of his secondary pitches on Sunday, something he admitted with ironic pride after the game.
Michael Kopech postgame pic.twitter.com/sqelFQXnGE
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) August 26, 2018
It was clear the Tigers wanted to be aggressive and attack fastballs early in the count. To a man, they went after premium heaters and forced Kopech into offspeed counts daring him to show the slider, changeup or curveball. When they knew he didn’t have command of those pitches it became easier for them to sit on the fastball.
But Kopech demonstrated exactly what scouts have been saying since 2014: his fastball is good enough to get major-league hitters out. Kopech did not shy away from the challenge of flushing fastballs into the zone and trusted Omar Narvaez to get him through the game. By the end of the sixth inning, Kopech cruised to his first win and fired 71 percent of his pitches for strikes. That he only needed 86 pitches to get through six innings is icing on the cake.
THAT is an impressive ratio. #KopechDay #whitesox pic.twitter.com/blmYcpZLcs
— Matt Enuco (@Matt_Enuco) August 26, 2018
After the game, Rick Renteria seconded the Kopech’s opinion about grinding it out while hinting that he considered letting Kopech go out for the seventh. He held back because of the lengthy White-Sox half of the seventh inning.
“He’ll continue to develop and learn,” Renteria said after the game. “I think all in all just in general for the club and for himself, just a nice day.”
Renteria expects Kopech to pitch in five days against the Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday.
It’s important to keep in mind that this was Kopech’s second start, albeit a very good one. It is nice to see that he has the stuff to survive on days when he has to play on his belly and there is still plenty of development ahead of him.
One obvious box he has to check is maintaining his composure on the mound. This is something Renteria addressed after the game and eased concerns about how Kopech will handle himself on the mound.
“He’ll start to know what his mannerisms are. … Everything’s on camera. He’ll look at, I’m sure, his outing and Coop, myself or some of the other guys will talk to him and let him know that it looked like he was showing some emotion about that particular situation.”
The good news is that he’s on his way and the White Sox are playing well behind him.
Here's my Sunday optimism: #whitesox have won 8 of their last 11 and 13 of their last 22. And these wins have been ground out. Holding onto leads and staging comebacks. That's progress.
— Matt Enuco (@Matt_Enuco) August 26, 2018
Kopech piled on the praise for his team and how they are playing right now. And quite frankly, they are finally starting to figure out what it takes to win.
Kopech on first win: "I really don't it's sunk in for me yet. We're playing well and we have been since I got here. And right now, winning feels normal. I hope that winning continues to feel normal.''
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) August 26, 2018
And the best news of all is that Kopech hasn’t issued a free pass since July 14, a streak that continued after Sunday.
Michael Kopech has not issued a walk in his last 26 innings dating to July 14 with Class AAA Charlotte.
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) August 26, 2018
The Sox have won nine of their last 12, but they face the New York Yankees in a three-game set starting Monday with Carlos Rodon on the mound. This will be a great opportunity for Rodon repair his stat line against the Yankees.
Rodon, Shields, Lopez scheduled to start for the #whitesox against the #yankees. Rodon is grooving right now, but the Yanks are batting .338 in four contests vs. the southpaw, tagging him up for a 7.11 ERA. Yanks are a little banged up but this is an itch Rodon has to scratch.
— Matt Enuco (@Matt_Enuco) August 26, 2018
