Getting the call to the big leagues was about as great of news as Michael Kopech could have received.
Getting the info that he’d have to wait until 2020 to make his next major league start was at the other end of the spectrum.
Welcome to Kopech’s Friday afternoon.
“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions for me in the past couple of weeks, obviously. From just about my absolute peak to the absolute rock bottom for me,” he said. “I think to say it’s unexpected would be an understatement.”
The shocking news that Kopech, the team’s top-ranked pitching prospect and a guy many view as a future ace, will likely undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entirety of the 2019 season hit the White Sox, their rebuilding effort and their fan base like a truck Friday.
And it hit Kopech pretty hard, too, as you might expect.
“It sucks. That’s it. It sucks.”
MLB
While negativity was an obvious reaction to have to such impactful news — combine Kopech’s injury with all the other injuries suffered by White Sox prospects this season, and it’s reasonable to wonder if the rebuild’s timeline will be affected — the silver lining, as general manager Rick Hahn put it, lies with Kopech himself.
Kopech is just 22 years old, and while he’ll lose a year of developmental time in 2019, he’s also young enough for this injury and the accompanying time off to be less detrimental than it could have been had it happened further along in his career. And the Tommy John track record is a pretty good one. There are plenty of pitchers who have had the surgery and bounced back.
Plus, Kopech isn’t exactly your run-of-the-mill pitcher. He’s a workout freak and has worked his way back from other obstacles before, as recently as the middle of this season. There might be big-picture concerns about what exactly his future and the White Sox future look like in the wake of this injury. But one thing that doesn’t seem to be in question is whether he’ll be able to work his way back.
“As you all know from getting to know Michael from the time he’s been with the organization or from seeing some of his videos on Instagram and Twitter and understanding what makes part of this kid great is his work ethic, and if there’s one person you need not have any concerns about in his diligence in a rehabilitation program, it’s Michael Kopech,” Hahn said to reporters Friday.
“This is obviously a blow and something that we are still digesting, we only received this news within the last two hours or so. But we do know that at this point that we believe Michael will be fully without restriction at the start of the 2020 season and in a position to build off what we feel is a very bright future for a long time in a White Sox uniform.”
It was already what was coming out of Kopech’s mouth not long after getting the news. And after seeing how he turned around a walk-heavy season and a high ERA with some elite performances before getting called up to the majors, it’s not hard to believe he’ll come back from this, too.
Still, though, it’s really tough news.
“After a rough beginning to the season for me, turning it around was really big. It was exciting for me. I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish. I cut down my walks. I went deeper in games. I pitched more efficiently. I got myself to the big leagues. And then this,” Kopech said. “It’s unfortunate. It sucks.
“I don’t think my work ethic has ever been in question. If it has, then I’m here to prove that it shouldn’t be and I’ll come back stronger than before.”