Michael Kopech said some eyebrow-raising things during the first couple weeks of White Sox spring training.
He called fellow uber prospect Eloy Jimenez "the Babe Ruth of our generation." That was a fun one. He also told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that "I feel like I could pitch if I needed to." Whether an accurate description of how good he was feeling at the time or another example of his impressive confidence, that one stirred up White Sox Twitter a bit: Was Kopech such a remarkable physical specimen that he could return from Tommy John surgery just a few months after having the procedure?
No, not at all, and he knows it. The full quote looked like this: "I feel like I could pitch if I needed to, but honestly I know that’s not in the cards."
The White Sox are taking it slow with their prized pitching prospect, with no need to rush him back for what's expected to be another season before the team sees its contention window start to open. Whether you talk with Kopech or general manager Rick Hahn or manager Rick Renteria or someone who's gone through this whole process before in Lucas Giolito — who underwent the procedure as a teenager after being drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2012 — there's one word that keeps popping up: patience.
"You just have to be patient. Patience is key," Giolito said earlier this month. "I think he knows that. He’s progressing through his program, he looks good throwing, from what I’ve seen, from what the trainers are seeing. All he can do is be patient and just keep moving through the program and trust it."
Giolito might end up being one of the most important figures in Kopech's recovery. The two roomed together in Southern California during the offseason, along with Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried, another veteran of the Tommy John recovery process. But Giolito will go from offseason roommate to in-season resource. When Kopech got the call to the majors last August, he was put right in between Giolito and James Shields in the home clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Giolito has provided ample advice to Kopech on how to work through the recovery process already. But ask Kopech what the most important thing he's learned from Giolito is, and that same word makes another appearance.
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"He has given me so much advice on it already, but I think the main thing is just — and it sounds cliche — to stay patient," Kopech said. "I’m a guy who doesn’t have much patience as is, and a process like this, that’s kind of the key. You can’t try to rush back on it. It’s not really an option. You have to take your time, do it properly and make sure that when you come back, you come back for good. I know it sounds like a cliche, and it kind of is, but at the same time it’s probably the most helpful advice I’ve gotten."
But these guys went over everything this offseason. Kopech was in the early stages of his recovery, and he could get a daily play-by-play of advice from Giolito and Fried.
"I think it was really good for him," Giolito said. "Michael was able to have just a wealth of information. ‘You’re going to feel things like this.’ We’d look at his arm, ‘Oh, where are you at on range of motion?’ and talk about the rehab, the certain exercises he was doing. We remember that. ‘You’ve got to just keep going through it, it’s going to get better.’ Talking about the mental side of it, things you’re going to feel. It’s hitting every aspect. We were able to kind of hang out and help him get through the early stages of rehab.
"He’s very in tune, mentally, with where he’s at. He talks about mental health and things like that. So it’s not like he really needs me to be there to help him out with it. But I think it was helpful for him to be in a house with two other guys that have gone through the surgery, gone through the process."
It's not like this a one-sided deal. Giolito got plenty out of having Kopech around, too, mostly in the form of spending time with Kopech's quartet of dogs.
"It was awesome having the dogs around," Giolito said with a big smile. "I’m a big dog guy, obviously, with my wife in veterinary school. We have one of our own. Being down in L.A. training and just having him around — obviously his dogs, I could go on about his cute puppies forever."
But canine-related incentives aside, this relationship looks like it will continue to help out the White Sox pitching staff even now that the offseason is over. Moving into the season, Kopech will still be in recovery mode. He'll still be in recovery mode for a while, no matter how good he might feel. Giolito can help with that as Kopech moves into the middle and late stages, just like he did with the early stages this winter. And once Kopech returns to full health for the 2020 season, the duo can lean on each other as they try to help the White Sox make the transition from rebuilding to contending.
And that's a good thing for two guys who could be part of that rotation of the future on the South Side.
"I think we understand each other a lot more now," Kopech said. "After being around each other for that amount of time every day, you kind of figure out the way each other is wired. We were able to pick each other’s brains quite a bit, and it did make the rehab process easier. I’m thankful for that, and we had a good offseason together.
"Just to continue to dialogue (once they're in the rotation together). It’s tough enough being young and trying to figure it out while you’re in the big leagues. But when you have someone else who’s gone through it or is also going through it, it makes the conversation easier, you can relate to each other. And when each other have success, you’re happy for him. When each other has failure, you’re able to help him. It’s kind of an up-and-down road, but we’re all in it together. And fortunately we’re a young team as a whole, so we can all kind of relate to each other."
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