While the record doesn’t suggest as much, the White Sox are seeing a number of positives on the field this spring. The latest involved Michael Kopech donning a live mound for the first time since March 10, 2020 and Garrett Crochet sitting in the mid-90’s while touching 98 mph against San Diego Tuesday. They combined for two scoreless innings.
Prior to his spring debut, the White Sox monitored Kopech with live bullpen sessions. In an effort to manage his workload while also reaping the benefits of Kopech’s value, the White Sox plan to use the hard throwing righty out of the pen to begin the season, as suggested by skipper Tony La Russa. The soon-to-be 25-year-old experienced a live example of entering the game as a reliever and he passed the test with flying colors.
Kopech faced three hitters and retired them in order, which included a strike out of Jorge Mateo. The called-third strike registered at 98 mph. Six of his nine offerings, unofficially, were 97 mph or above.
Crochet’s inning wasn’t as clean, but the result was as encouraging as what we saw out of Kopech.
The tall lefty out of Tennessee turns 22 years old in June and is entering his second professional season with the White Sox. The plan is to utilize his value as a reliever now because, well, he’s too good to be used anywhere else at this point.
General manager Rick Hahn stated in February that, “the goal is to win a World Series championship, so if we fall short of that, it would be a disappointment.” Actions are already offering credence to the declaration, as the club is wasting little time getting young, valuable assets in the right shape ahead of the regular season.
As Crochet’s career develops, so will the opportunity for him to work as a starter. That could very well begin in the 2022 offseason. However, for now, the White Sox have a dangerous left-handed weapon to use at any point of any ballgame.
Tuesday’s appearance came three days after Crochet’s first outing of the spring. He sat 95-97 mph against San Diego. James Fegan of The Athletic noted Crochet may be holding back a bit this spring in terms of velocity and high-stress offerings.
Crochet walked C.J. Abrams, who was selected two picks after Andrew Vaughn in the 2019 draft. He then struck out Trent Grisham with a knee-buckling 80 mph curveball, walked Manny Machado and induced an inning-ending double play to Eric Hosmer.
FIRST CUTS
The White Sox announced the first round of minor league reassignments.
- Reliever Danny Dopico
- Starter Kade McClure
- Starter Emilio Vargas
- Reliever Jacob Lindgren
- Reliever Bennett Sousa
- Starter Matt Tomshaw
- Catcher Carlos Perez
All of the aforementioned were non-roster invites to spring training. Kade McClure impressed, though, in three appearances in big league camp.
He allowed just two hits over three innings across three appearances. McClure proved he developed an uptick in his velocity and break following a lost MiLB season in 2020. The 25-year-old is ticketed to start in Triple-A Charlotte and has a prime chance to earn a spot in the major league rotation should the opportunity arise.
Following the moves, the White Sox now hold 28 pitchers, 13 infielders, eight outfielders and five catchers in major league camp.
Photo credit: Clinton Cole/FutureSox
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I know SoxMachine is starting to play around with that feature. It’s been quite a while since I was managing WordPress websites, but I’m sure there’s a simple plugin or something.
Also, belated congrats on moving the site to an independent URL!