A (Re)View Of Michael Kopech's Debut With The White Sox

If you missed Michael Kopech‘s debut with the White Sox last night, shame on you. Turn in your membership card and resubmit your questionnaire for review. The rest of us, however, enjoyed a rain-shortened start of magnificence.

Tonight, we got our first look at the nastiness of @MichaelKopech5. pic.twitter.com/K5J0tHm1b0

— MLB (@MLB) August 22, 2018

It took Kopech 52 pitches to fill two innings, but he fired 35 strikes and demonstrated some serious stuff packaged in his right arm. We knew about his electrifying fastball and we knew he needed to work on his secondary pitches. And all of the bellyaching and nauseating patience to see him in Chicago was worth the wait to witness how far along his stuff has developed.

Michael Kopech finally showed us his changeup.

91mph of FILTH. pic.twitter.com/KPqVTV6zUh

— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) August 22, 2018

That was his changeup; a pitch labeled in need of work and Kopech’s proudest moment of Tuesday’s outing.

Kopech said executing this pitch was the highlight of his outing https://t.co/WlvIGwrxMp

— James Fegan (@JRFegan) August 22, 2018

After God doused The Rate in rain Kopech’s night was over. He finished his debut with 52 pitches spreading a mix of offspeed pitches behind his dominant fastball.

Michael Kopech recap tonight (via Baseball Savant)

52 pitches (35 strikes)
41 Four-seam fastballs (max 98.5 MPH)
8 sliders
3 changeups

6 whiffs
8 called strikes#WhiteSox

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) August 22, 2018

Averaging 98.5 mph on his fastball is something most fans expected. Some of us were disappointed he didn’t reach triple digits and had the rain not interrupted his night we have seen the feat. Still, Kopech threw 41 fastballs over 95 miles per hour and brushed by the season high for fastballs in that range this season.

Most 95+ mph pitches in a single game in @MLB this year: 79 – @Braves' Mike Foltynewicz, 5/27#WhiteSox No. 2 prospect Michael Kopech threw 41 such pitches IN THE FIRST TWO INNINGS of his @MLB debut tonight before 🌧 https://t.co/PJuMingTmr pic.twitter.com/Vb8mK3uLDA

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 22, 2018

The story doesn’t end there. If you need quirky trivia, we have that too. Kopech’s first strikeout victim with the White Sox was Miguel Sano. Chris Sale‘s last strikeout victim with the White Sox was Miguel Sano.

Rick Renteria missed Kopech’s debut because he was stuck in a Minneapolis hospital undergoing more observation after feeling lightheaded the night before. And while Kopech was sweating out (literally) two innings in his debut, Jose Abreu underwent lower-abdomen surgery.

But the story also involved 23,133 fans. You turned out to support the youngster and marveled what the future may hold. The crowd around the bullpen for Kopech’s warmups was impressive.

The crowd around the #WhiteSox bullpen as @MichaelKopech5 warms up.

Sports live from The Rate at :15 and :45 all night! @WBBMNewsradio pic.twitter.com/bVCSRZCehv

— Rick Gregg (@rickgregg) August 21, 2018

Nothing could keep many of you from witnessing this moment, not even a rain-soaked loss to the Twins. And Kopech noticed…

Kopech: "I was a little bumbed out [about the rain]. I wanted to go deeper. But either way i got to experience the debut, and it was a dream come true."

"The fans were more engaged than I expected."

— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) August 22, 2018

I mean, did he think we were going to let this moment slip by without giving it serious attention? Social media was buzzing for days and the White Sox promoted his debut with shameless (maybe unbridled excitement is a better characterization) zeal.

Even I jumped on the fun train.

It’s #KopechDay and I just recorded my first periscope in a grocery store. Keep an eye out for a special edition of the ⁦@PinwheelsIvyPod⁩ after the game and PLEASE @ me, ⁦@SouthsideZo⁩ and ⁦@AldoSoto21⁩ with ? For the pod. #WhiteSox https://t.co/pGnXTeN4ZY

— Matt Enuco (@Matt_Enuco) August 21, 2018

And then later…

My dining room doesn’t quite replicate the warm ambiance of the super market, but Kopech showed some stuff tonight. #whitesox https://t.co/PrQ0Z8ZeAb

— Matt Enuco (@Matt_Enuco) August 22, 2018

Here is my postmortem on Kopech’s debut. He checked a lot of boxes. His fastball was what I expected it to be. He commanded it in the strike zone most of the time and was was able to elevate it at times. The secondary stuff was even more impressive. The curveball and slider had bite and he placed low in the zone without letting it pop out of the hand. He walked a few guys and gave up a few hits, but he worked through traffic and kept his composure.

I admit I was worried about whether he would be able to handle the moment and when I think back to how I survived many of those situations (never quite to this scale) success hinged on navigating the first action. Kopech fired a 95-mph dart for a strike in his first delivery and the game moved on from there. If the ball had sailed off the backstop, we might be having a different conversation this morning.

Above all else, I was happy to see him pitch rather than throw. He maintained his mechanics, trusted Omar Narvaez to call a good game and took hold of the moment instead of the other way around.

Although it was a short debut, Kopech could see an extra start later in Sept. with the saved innings in this start. He is likely on an innings cap, something the White Sox have not publicly admitted, but I’d have more questions if he wasn’t than if he was. So, buckle up for more fun in Sept. Kopech is here and he’s worth the price of admission.

And don’t forget that the human element folded into our alacrity to see the prospects. Kopech and his Dad had a touching moment after the game that reminded us of where these dreams start and why baseball is unlike any other professional sport.