A year removed from Tommy John surgery, right-hander Michael Kopech will come to spring training with no restrictions ready to claim a spot in the White Sox 2020 starting rotation that would be his to lose.
Kopech, 23, will have a fresh arm, and a renewed mind, as well.
“I think Tommy John has been the best thing to ever happen to me,” Kopech said on a conference call Thursday. “Not just for baseball but in general.”
Kopech, the Sox’ prized pitching prospect who accompanied Yoan Moncada and outfield prospect Luis Basabe in the Chris Sale trade, has used the time during his rehab to “take a step back away from the game and allow life to catch up, and for the game to slow down,” he said.
He also got engaged to girlfriend Vanessa Morgan, who stars on the CW show Riverdale. On the baseball side of his life, he is feeling healthy and eager to pitch, he said.
“I am about as ready as I can be,” Kopech said. “I’ve done everything I can to prepare. It’s been a long time coming I feel like. But yeah, I feel ready to go, ready for next spring.”
Physically, Kopech is on track. Mentally, he’s taking a somewhat different path to his craft.
“I’m taking a results based mentality I’ve taken for most of my career and kind of re-wired that,” he said. “The results are only as good as the preparation I’ve put in. I’m trying to make sure I’m fully prepared and a well rounded athlete, not just a hard throwing pitcher and come back next year with the velocity I already had as a tool but also some well polished tools I’ve tried to develop over my rehab here.”
Kopech texts other Sox pitchers after their outings and stays on top of what the team is doing. Despite a 69-88 record going into their game against the Indians Thursday, performances from young core players like Moncada, Tim Anderson, Lucas Giolito and Eloy Jimenez feed into an upbeat outlook for 2020.
“To see everything coming together and what everyone has done … ” Kopech said. “It’s just going to be a lot of fun to be a part of. We’re realizing how good we can be.”
Watching from a distance has been tough, “especially when you see the team sort of starting to click and you desperately want to be a part of it,” Kopech said.
Kopech will be given every opportunity to be part of it in the starting rotation as soon as April.
“He’s moving along in a great way in terms of health,” manager Rick Renteria said, “showing everybody he’s making tremendous strides to put himself back on track.”
Kopech arrived from Class AAA Charlotte with much fanfare last August 21, warming up in the Sox bullpen to a sizable crowd gathered all around before what turned into a rain-shortened debut against the Twins. He beat the Tigers with six innings of one-run ball on Aug. 26 in Detroit, but was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament on Sept. 6, a day after allowing seven runs on nine hits including four homers against the Tigers.
Kopech was expected to hold down a spot in the rotation this year, and his absence took plenty of steam out of the Sox’ rebuild. His comeback in spring training will be one of the bigger storylines in Glendale, Ariz.
“I’m just go into spring right now to compete for a job in the starting rotation,” he said.
