GLENDALE, Ariz. — Michael Kopech returned to the pitcher’s mound Tuesday.
He brought his fastball with him.
Eighteen months removed from Tommy John surgery, the White Sox right-hander made his first appearance in a game since the end of the 2018 season, this one a one-inning start, as planned, in a Cactus League game against the Rangers.
Kopech appears to be fully recovered, if his velocity is any indication. Kopech’s first pitch to leadoff man Eli White registered 100 mph on the scoreboard gun. He followed that with consecutive pitches of 101, 100 and 101 mph. Kopech retired the Rangers in order, getting White and Isiah Kiner-Falefa on ground balls to second baseman Leury Garcia and striking out Greg Bird.
Kopech’s 11th and final pitch of the inning was a 101 mph fastball taken by the left-handed hitting Bird on the outside corner. Six of his pitches touched 100 or 101, per the stadium gun. Scouts behind the plate got the same reads.
“Kopech looked impressive,” one scout said. “The sharpness and feel for his breaking stuff was most impressive. That’s usually the last thing to return after TJ.”
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>A swift inning for Kopech ends like this. <a href=”https://t.co/8EoN3pMvlV”>pic.twitter.com/8EoN3pMvlV</a></p>— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) <a href=”https://twitter.com/CST_soxvan/status/1237471971257933824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>March 10, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8”></script>
Kopech has talked all spring long about being less of a thrower and more of a pitcher, so the 100-mph readings were a bit of a surprise. No one was surprised that he was amped up being on a mound again, however.
“His competitiveness is still there,” manager Rick Renteria said before the game. “And his desire to want to be here [in the majors] as quickly as possible is there. The biggest thing for him is he understands that there is a process and I think he’s understood now the steps he’s going to take put himself in as good a position as possible. The anxiousness of wanting to rush it all, you’ve got to be able to control it. And I think he’s managing it very well.
“I’m sure he’ll do fine. I’m sure he’ll be a little excited for the first time in a while. Which is natural.”
Acquired with Yoan Moncada in the trade for Chris Sale, Kopech has carried the badge of top Sox pitching prospect since 2016. He made four starts for the Sox in September 2018 before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.
