Chicago White Sox prospect Lopez on a roll at Charlotte
It was the Chicago White Sox's first full-squad workout of spring training, and Jacob May was preparing to step into the box to face Reynaldo Lopez in live batting practice.
Sitting nearby in a golf cart, Sox vice president Kenny Williams couldn't resist taking a swing of his own.
"You're not ready for Lopez," Williams told May with a laugh. "No chance."
Williams wasn't knocking May's hitting skills. Rather, he was just sending a friendly warning.
A key off-season acquisition from the Washington Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade, Lopez reported to training camp in February determined to immediately prove his worth.
Making 5 Cactus League starts for the White Sox, the 23-year-old Lopez allowed 8 earned runs in 19⅓ innings (3.72 ERA) while striking out 14 to go with 5 walks. The right-hander also held opposing hitters to a .197 average.
It was an impressive showing, but Lopez and other top prospects such as Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito and Carson Fulmer all were ticketed for the minor leagues regardless of how they performed in spring training.
Lopez wasn't thrilled with being sent to Class AAA Charlotte to begin the season, but it was the smart move for a Sox team looking toward the future.
Additionally, Lopez needed more polish.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder was 1-1 with a 4.87 ERA in his first 4 starts with the Knights.
In his last 5 starts with Charlotte, Lopez has gone 5-0 with a 2.20 ERA. For the season, he is fourth in the International League with 50 strikeouts (in 49 innings) and ninth with a 2.94 ERA.
Lopez has been happy with the consistency of his fastball and curveball all season. The slider has been coming around and that has elevated Lopez's overall game.
"That's a pitch that I try to incorporate into my repertoire," Lopez said through a translator. "I know that's a good pitch if I can command that pitch. I have to have a real sense of that pitch, but besides that I've been trying to command all my pitches, not just the slider.
"(The slider) has been effective, but I need to keep my focus on the command of all my pitches because when you try to focus just on one, the other pitches are not going to be as effective as they are supposed to be."
It looks like the White Sox are going to need another starter after Dylan Covey exited Tuesday's start against the Diamondbacks with left-oblique soreness.
If Covey has to go on the disabled list, Lopez looks like a prime candidate to fill the spot.
Then again, the Sox want to avoid plugging their top prospects into roles caused by injury.
Lopez is on an obvious roll, but is he ready to join the major-league rotation on a permanent basis? Would the White Sox be willing to potentially burn a year of service time by bringing the right-hander up now?
Those are questions that need to be answered soon.