Kopech working on mental side of pitching
This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it commonly in your inbox.
CHICAGO — The psychological facet of pitching is part that Michael Kopech wants to beat as a lot because the bodily mechanical points he works on between begins for the White Sox.
With that focus in thoughts, let’s transfer to an essential second of Kopech’s newest outing. In the second inning of an eventual 9-0 loss to the Orioles on Monday evening at Camden Yards, Ryan O’Hearn singled and Cedric Mullins doubled. Kopech then retired Ramón Urías on a grounder to second baseman Lenyn Sosa and struck out Adam Frazier and Ryan McKenna.
That second-inning zero was the purpose of success for Kopech. But it was the pounding of his glove 3 times after getting McKenna to chase a slider for the third strike that confirmed the right-hander’s confidence was rising.
“Everybody has their own way of kind of mastering that part of the game, the mental side of the game,” Kopech instructed me throughout an interview this previous weekend. “You see guys who carry themselves with a plethora of confidence, and that retains them from ever feeling too down on themselves.
“Then you see guys who’re extraordinarily humble. Guys that come to thoughts are just like the superstars of the league, Mike Trout, [Shohei] Ohtani. They are extremely gifted, and they’re very assured of themselves. They don’t carry themselves with cockiness, however you possibly can inform that there is no such thing as a doubt of their thoughts.
“If you go out there feeling like your opponent is better than you at any point, then nine times out of 10 they are going to be,” Kopech added. “That’s what’s beautiful and difficult about this game that we play. It’s a chess match — just a really physical one.”
Kopech has struggled inside that chess match over his final 12 begins, posting a 6.62 ERA in 50 1/3 innings. He’s fanned 42 however has additionally walked 51 and allowed 13 house runs.
He didn’t full six innings throughout any of these 12, with 4 straight begins through which he didn’t make it out of the fifth. The frustration exhibits at occasions on the mound, however these in-game moments don’t preclude Kopech from persevering with his purposeful work to ultimately change into a “chess” grasp on the mound.
“It’s easy to kind of let your mind spin down that hole a little bit [and] get to a point of, ‘Woe is me,’” Kopech mentioned. “Ultimately, that solely results in extra points, to extra negativity, to not trusting your self. And getting out of that [mindset] is the easiest way to beat on this sport as a staff and as a person. And there’s been occasions this yr the place I struggled to get out of it. That’s brought about me to get my enamel kicked in just a little bit.
“There have been times this year I’ve gone out there with a pretty good mindset and still got my teeth kicked in. Sometimes it’s part of the game and you have to accept it, but there’s always growth to be done, there’s always room for improvement. If we can continue doing that, from the bullpen to start, day in and day out, and the minuscule work in between, we’ll be in a pretty good position to bounce back from this at the end of this year and going into next year.”
Kopech leads the American League with 84 walks issued and is tied for fourth with Lance Lynn at 28 house runs allowed. There’s little question Kopech can be a part of the 2024 White Sox rotation, with supervisor Pedro Grifol reinforcing that time over the weekend. The expertise is there, as proven via Kopech’s 127 strikeouts and 106 hits allowed over 124 innings.
The 27-year-old additionally possesses a four-seam fastball with a 95.2 mph common, per Statcast, and has integrated the changeup just a little extra inside his repertoire. This season’s struggles haven’t stopped Kopech and the White Sox from attempting to win, however they’ve additionally allowed Kopech to make changes at sport velocity whereas attempting to win the thoughts sport.
“There’s more opportunity to work on things,” Kopech mentioned. “To have these alternatives and to have the ability to attempt to fine-tune issues on the large league degree is nearly as good of a observe as you possibly can have.
“Working hard will get you to a certain point. Mastering the mental side is what keeps guys in it for so long. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with guys who have had a good bit of time, and you see how they carry themselves. I would like to be one of those guys.”
