1) Michael Kopech
In the words of Hawk Harrelson, “the best pitch in the baseball is a good fastball.” Well, Kopech certainly has one of those. Grading out at a perfect 80 (rarely ever seen), it sits at 96-98, and hit 105 in a minor league game last season. It also has late running life that has opposing batters swinging and missing both inside and outside of the strike zone. However, the opposition cannot just sit and wait for a fastball, as Kopech also provides a wipeout slider that can sit at 90. While his changeup is not completely reliable as of yet, it still shows signs of becoming a plus pitch. If it does, Kopech will have three-plus pitches he can use to consistently keep hitters off balance. He also has an incredible makeup and seems to have that I’m-the-best mentality.
If Kopech can maintain his velocity deep into games, he will unquestionably be the No. 1 starter on the Sox pitching staff. At the end of the day though, any of the five names mentioned has the potential to be that guy.
Final Thoughts
There are a couple similarities between most of these guys. The biggest and potentially most problematic is that four of the five are all righties. Normally, this would be a big problem, as the best rotations usually have some sort of lefty/righty balance. However, with all four having such electric stuff, it should not matter in the end.
Secondly, the main issue with the young righties is that they all have struggled to harness their control and command and throw strikes. Again, an issue that can be corrected with a few minor tweaks here and there. Don Cooper has to be licking his chops to get to work with these kids, and he will surely bring out the best in each of them.
Again, this potential rotation is for the most part hypothetical for now. We have no idea if the younger prospects will ever plan out. Quintana could be traded to a team other than the Astros. The team could also spend big on a pitcher in 2018 free agency, (although I see the front office going offense-heavy when that time rolls around). Either way, there are endless scenarios as to what the pitching staff can look like come 2020, but at the end of the day, this is where I would personally put my money.
A rotation consisting of Kopech/Giolito/Rodon/Lopez/Martes would go toe-to-toe with any team in a series. Furthermore, once the White Sox add more bats to back up the staff, the offense will really start to take off. If any of these pitchers can get a lead, it will allow them to really attack the strike zone and challenge batters to hit their stuff, instead of trying to get them to chase out of the zone.
Perhaps the best part about having these five in the rotation is that it allows the bullpen to become equally as deep and talented. The Sox could send out Carson Flumer, Alec Hansen, and Spencer Adams as long relievers in order to preserve the arms of the starters. Then they have Zack Burdi waiting to close in the 9th. In short, the Sox could have the deepest and most talented group of pitchers in the MLB a few years down the road.
The 2020 season is still three years away, but if this is the starting five when that year comes, Sox fans have got to be feeling pretty good.
Want to discuss a possible different direction the Sox might go with in 2020? Go ahead and throw a tweet at me. @Run_EMC
