As the White Sox were in the middle of getting blown out 6-0 earlier this afternoon, White Sox Twitter spontaneously combusted from just one tweet.
BREAKING NEWS: Michael Kopech is being called up. He'll make his White Sox debut Tuesday night at home vs. Minnesota.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) August 19, 2018
The announcement that White Sox fans across the country have been waiting for since the 2018 season began has finally been declared, and the flame-throwing 22-year-old will make his first MLB start on Tuesday at home against the Twins.
Kopech started his season off in dominating fashion, but the walks and control problems were still evident. This brought an unfamiliar stretch of lackluster starts that made the rest of the 2018 season a little blurry. Fast forward to the All-Star break, and that stretch of bad starts is a distant memory.
Since the all-star break, #WhiteSox RHP Michael Kopech is 4-0, 1.84 with 59 strikeouts in 44 IP. He's allowed 39 hits and walked four.
— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) August 17, 2018
With him being in Charlotte the entire year, it was only a matter of time before he got the call. So now that he’s here, what should we expect from him?
The Arsenal
At the beginning of the season, fans of the White Sox knew Kopech to be the kid who once threw a ball 110 mph.
His fastball is one of the filthiest I have ever seen. Not just in speed, but the movement it has makes it damn near impossible to square up. His no. 1 pitch will help him rack up strikeouts regularly.
But what else? How about a slider that hits the low 90’s with 2 plane break? Or a 2-seam fastball to keep hitters honest? His changeup has improved while in the minors, and he even brought back his curve ball, surprising everyone in doing so.
So yes, while his fastball is what he’s known for, there’s a lot more tricks up his sleeve.
Build
If the baseball Gods were tasked with sculpting the perfect pitcher’s body, they would end up with Michael Kopech. At 6’3 205 lb., he isn’t too skinny or too big, but just right. His body frame should help him go deep into games. For those clamoring that he will be a future closer, I’ll just keep it simple and say you’re wrong.
Makeup
The main reason that fans will fall in love with Kopech (aside from his looks) is his competitive, “I don’t give a s**t” attitude. You can tell he gets it when he talks in interviews. Some of it may be cockiness, but a lot of it is just him being confident in himself.
Michael Kopech P/CWS highlights.
Lanzador ha sido llamado a MLB. pic.twitter.com/DS0lYJR7xI— Miguel ® Ramos ™ (@leugimramos) August 19, 2018
3-4 Cy Youngs, talking about having a Hall of Fame career, the list goes on. Michael Kopech wants to be great, and it sounds like he’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.
The Future
Every young big leaguer goes through some rough patches, and Kopech will be no different. But once he settles in, he has everything needed not only to survive in the MLB, but dominate it. He and Carlos Rodon could one day form one of the better 1-2 punches at the top of a rotation in the entire MLB.
The rebuild took another step forward today with the birth of the Michael Kopech Era. Time to enjoy the ride.
