Is Kopech on fast track to Chicago White Sox's rotation?
Michael Kopech has come a long way from Feb. 28.
That was the day the Chicago White Sox's rocket-armed pitching prospect made his first Cactus League start, and it did not go well.
Taking the mound against the Seattle Mariners in Glendale, Arizona, Kopech pitched just 1 inning and was tagged for 4 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk.
"He learned really fast how good big-league hitters can turn around 98 (mph)," said White Sox catcher Kevan Smith, who was behind the plate for Kopech's spring debut.
Kopech has not stopped learning during an impressive season with Class AA Birmingham.
The 21-year-old righty is one of the younger players in the Southern League, but Kopech ranks first with 145 strikeouts and seventh with a 3.04 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
Baseball America's No. 20 overall prospect, Kopech has really turned it up over his last 5 starts with the Barons, pitching 34 innings and allowing just 3 earned runs on 18 hits to go with 44 strikeouts.
Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in December's Chris Sale trade, Kopech broke his right hand during a fight with a teammate in the spring of 2016 and was limited to 12 starts with Class A Lowell and A Salem.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder has made 21 starts with Birmingham this season, and he also pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Team USA in July's All-Star Futures Game, striking out current White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada.
"Every player comes with an individual development plan and goals for the season," said Sox general manager Rick Hahn. "I'd say the two most important for Michael were, first and foremost, taking the ball every fifth day for the course of an entire season, which was something he had not done.
"The second one was being able to respond to the challenge of being 20, 21 years old and pitching in the Southern League, which is advanced placement. He's passed both of those, knock on wood, with flying colors."
Smith has his hands full with the Sox's major-league pitching staff, but he worked closely with Kopech during spring training and still keeps an eye on the phenom.
"Electric stuff, no doubt," Smith said. "In spring training, I told him his next step is actually learning how to pitch, learning how to command all of his pitches. I talked to him a lot on the bench, just picking his brain, telling him to start getting ready to actually know how to pitch up here.
"I explained to him that the velocity is there, but up here we learn how to pitch down in the zone; we learn how to throw every pitch for strikes."
Kopech is always going to be known for his laser fastball, but Hahn said he's become a complete starting pitcher at Birmingham.
"He's gotten greater command of the fastball," Hahn said. "His slider's obviously a plus, and he's trusting the changeup more. So he's checking off boxes that were even a little bit lower in terms of reasonable expectations for his season.
"That said, if he just continues to take the ball every fifth day and finishes through August strong, I will view it as a very successful season for Michael. In fact, you probably already can call it a very successful season."
If Kopech continues climbing, don't be surprised if he is joining the White Sox's rotation around this time next season.
"He's going to be a very successful pitcher at this level," Smith said. "I know in spring I was seeing his heater and his slider, and he was working on his changeup. That's what I'm really curious to see because in the spring, I only got to see his punch-out pitches, the heaters at 120 (mph) and guys were just swinging at them.
"I'm anxious to get this future thing rolling."