Michael Kopech goes to minor league camp as White Sox continue to trim roster

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White Sox fans' dreams of seeing Michael Kopech on the team's Opening Day roster were never very realistic. Tuesday, they were officially dashed.

The White Sox announced Tuesday morning that Kopech, the organization's top-rated pitching prospect and the No. 10 prospect in baseball, has been assigned to minor league camp.

This is not surprising news, of course, but it brings what was a hit-or-miss spring to an end for the 21-year-old hurler with huge expectations.

Kopech finished with a gigantic 11.57 ERA in four spring outings, showing that the decision to start him at Triple-A Charlotte makes a lot of sense. Kopech started off great in Cactus League play, with no earned runs allowed in his first two outings, which featured six strikeouts over 4.1 innings. But he was roughed up in his final two outings, allowing five runs in 2.1 innings against the Kansas City Royals and a whopping seven runs (four earned) in just a third of an inning against the Oakland Athletics.

While Kopech's talent had some thinking there was an outside shot he could do enough this spring to make the team's Opening Day roster — he did, after all, strike out 155 batters in 119.1 innings at Double-A Birmingham last season — it figure he'd begin the 2018 campaign at Charlotte after making just three starts at the Triple-A level in 2017. General manager Rick Hahn told reporters earlier in spring training that Kopech would begin the season in the minors, with that official roster move coming Tuesday.

Hahn has said repeatedly this offseason that a good developmental season for Kopech and other highly touted prospects like outfielder Eloy Jimenez could mean them not seeing the big leagues at all. But if Kopech pitches like he did last season, you'd have to predict that he'll get his first taste of the majors at some point during the 2018 season.

Joining Kopech in minor league camp is Jacob May, the White Sox Opening Day center fielder a season ago. The moves brought the White Sox big league camp total to 36 players.

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