Pressure or not, White Sox' Michael Kopech knows it's time to live up to potential

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Michael Kopech said Thursday there’s not much pressure on the White Sox for 2024 because expectations aren’t very high.

That’s one way of looking at this Sox team during these first days of spring training.

There’s pressure on Kopech, though. And those expectations depend on whether you’re talking to the front office, fans or Kopech himself. Traded by the Red Sox along with third baseman Yoan Moncada and two other prospects for Chris Sale in 2016, he arrived with lofty projections as a flame-throwing, top pitching prospect destined for the front of the rotation.

But aside from a few fleeting periods of sustained success — a 3.50 ERA while working mainly in relief during the Sox’ division-title year in 2021, and a 5-9 record with a 3.54 ERA in 25 starts in 2022 — Kopech hasn’t measured up. He knows it after going 5-12 with a 5.43 ERA in 27 starts last season. The Sox know it. And a fan base disgruntled with everything about the Sox — except potential new ballpark renderings — knows it, too.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily the pressure of what people expect from me [or] something I’m trying to live up to,” Kopech said. “It’s more what I expect of myself. I know that I have capabilities that I haven’t shown at this level yet, and there’s still that edge that I want to provide to the team and help the team compete to win a championship. And to do that, I need to live up to my potential. So, yeah, that’s something that’s very much a focus of mine.”

Kopech led the American League with 91 walks in 129„ innings over 30 appearances in 2023. He also gave up 29 homers.

“A big part of having a bounce-back year is understanding what you’re putting behind you,” he said. “We don’t want to dwell on last year, to reiterate what Pedro’s saying.”

Pedro Grifol, that is — the second-year manager who said, “Why not us?” to those humbling PECOTA projections giving the Sox a 0% chance of making the postseason.

“But at the same time, we need to learn from the mistakes that were going on,” Kopech said. “To recognize those and address those and to not go back to those is important.”

A new vibe is in the air, what with so many new faces in camp, many young players looking to carve out a niche and veterans such as Kopech, Moncada, outfielders Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Benintendi, shortstop Paul DeJong and even outfielder/first baseman Andrew Vaughn having plenty to prove. For whatever it’s worth when talent and depth is lacking, it can’t be all bad.

“It’s a new feeling, for sure,” Kopech said.

He dealt with a cyst that was removed from his right knee, plus a bout of shoulder inflammation, but still made the 27 starts last season. This offseason, in which he lost 20 pounds, was about getting healthy.

“I’ve been banged up the past couple years,” Kopech said. “Feel good again, and so I got myself in pretty good shape. Continued throwing and working on tightening some stuff up on the mound and kind of just fine-tuning everything. Coming in ready to go and not feeling like I’m behind the 8-ball.”

Said Grifol: “If you look at his body, and you look at the shape he’s in, how strong he is and lean he is, you realize that it was affecting him a little bit. He’s in incredible shape [now]. He’s strong — he’s mentally strong.”

But Kopech beats himself up, his body language evident for all to see.

“Yeah, we’re really focusing on that,” Grifol acknowledged. “This is a tough game, and he’s slowly understanding with age that it’s a game of failure, and you’re not always going to have success.”

And there will always be pressure. It comes with the gig, Grifol said.

“But,” he added, “there’s a mental side to this game that gives you that edge to be fearless on the mound, and that’s what [Kopech] is realizing now. Like, ‘I’m not always going to have success. But I have to maintain that confidence and that fearlessness.’ ”