White Sox' Michael Kopech 'empties the tank' as reliever

Maybe this is where Michael Kopech belonged all along.

Time will tell.

But so far, so good.

Moved to the White Sox bullpen midway through spring training, Kopech has shown lightning-bolt flashes of dominance in relief, most recently a wow-that-was-something two innings in Cleveland to close out a 7-5 White Sox victory Tuesday.

Kopech threw 24 pitches, 23 of them fastballs averaging 100.4 mph. He touched 102 one time.

And he threw 18 strikes, three of them to Jose Ramirez.

Teammates were astonished. Kopech was feeling a sense of satisfaction for the first time in too long after grinding through 129„ innings with a 5.43 ERA last season.

“My velo is back to where I wanted it to be for a long time,” he said after the game. “Striking guys out is always fun. Feels good.”

Kopech said he hadn’t felt like that since 2021.

“The adrenaline, the velocity, it’s been awhile,” he said. “Everything feels good.”

To reach into an arsenal bag containing only a fastball and slider is less complicated than his three- or four-pitch mix. Maybe carrying a lighter handbag to the mound is a good thing.

Some of the difference coming out of the bullpen is physical.

“As a starter, if I tried to empty the tank like that in the first, I’d be throwing 92 in the third,” Kopech told the Sun-Times on Wednesday. “It’s a little bit different. The throttle can be all the way down when you’re in for that short period of time. I’m taking advantage of that.”

Some is mental.

“You play to the competition of the game,” he said. “In that moment, you want to be ready for the first pitch, the first hitter. It’s easy to let that become a worrisome mentality. It’s being able to stay under control, trust myself and pitch to get outs. It’s a mentality, a change of perspective.”

In five appearances, Kopech has a 2.45 ERA with 12 strikeouts and five walks. His starter’s résumé makes multi-inning appearances doable, which he demonstrated against the Guardians and with a five-out save in the Sox’ only other victory on April 2 against the Braves. In that one, Kopech served up a home run to Marcell Ozuna, allowed two hits and two walks but powered his way through to a handshake line. It was Kopech’s first career save.

On April 5 in Kansas City, Kopech entered a tie game and walked the second batter he faced, which turned into the game-winning run. He struck out the side but was upset.

“The game in Kansas City didn’t sit right with me,” he said. “Went out with more of an edge [Tuesday], made sure that didn’t happen again. And, fortunately, I was able to do that with control. It’s easy to go out there and amp yourself up and do too much, but there’s a balance that can be met. Once you’re able to reach that peak while staying under control, your game elevates a little bit.”

Manager Pedro Grifol is seeing what was envisioned with the move to the pen, but he won’t put a closer label on Kopech, who had a 3.50 ERA in 2021, when he came on in relief in 40 of 44 appearances. He’s more about leverage.

“He’s a high-leverage pitcher, and he’s a good one,” Grifol said. “A lot of the closers are one-inning guys that come in no matter what in the ninth. I’m not going to use him that way. I certainly won’t hesitate to give him the ball in the ninth inning, but I definitely won’t hesitate to give him the ball in the eighth, either. And come in and clean something up. I don’t know if I like the word closer. He’s a big-time leverage pitcher.

“If I was a hitter, and I had to face . . . it’s the presence, the confidence, the belief in your stuff. There’s a lot of ways to win little battles in this game that go far and beyond ability. And he’s winning that mindset battle, where he stands on that mound, and it’s ‘game on,’ and everybody knows it.”