On Wednesday, White Sox pitchers and catchers arrived at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. It is officially time to talk baseball again. The White Sox have bolstered their pitching staff by adding veteran starter Lance Lynn and prize RP Liam Hendricks to shore up an already strong bullpen. These guys will be great to see in spring training, but I know what they will bring to the table. I’m more interested in seeing is how our great young core of arms, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, and Garret Crochet, will look.
Dylan Cease
Dylan Cease had a solid sophomore season (5-4 4.01ERA 1.44WHIP 12G 12GS 58.1IP 44SO 34BB) in which he made improvements in both ERA and WHIP. However, he still hasn’t lived up to his lofty expectations. Cease possesses a top-line fastball with good secondary pitches, curveball and changeup, but has yet to get all of his pitches working consistently.
Cease is still only 25 years old, and teammate C Yasmani Grandal is hyping him up for a breakout season. “If we get him where we see him going, this guy could be a Cy Young finalist…. possibly a Cy Young winner. He’s got the tools to do it. There’s no doubt in that.” I’m not ready to go that far, but I believe we have yet to see the best Cease has to offer.
Michael Kopech
Another pitcher who has a halo of hype is Michael Kopech. Kopech has been under the microscope ever since he came to the White Sox as a part of a trade that sent away star pitcher Chris Sale. He made his debut late in the 2018 season and made four starts before an injury to his elbow kept him out for the rest of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In 2020, Kopech was cleared to return, but he sat out the entire season due to the COVID pandemic and personal considerations.
With 2020 in the rearview mirror, Kopech seems primed and ready to help the White Sox win. The White Sox desperately need Kopech to come out and be the flame-throwing prospect that we got glimpses of in 2018. It is unclear whether he will be an RP or a starter on the rotation’s backend, but having too many good arms is never a bad thing. The White Sox don’t have to rush Kopech up. Because the White Sox signed SP Carlos Rodon to be the fifth starter, management won’t rush Kopech’s progress.
Garrett Crochet
After being drafted in 2020, rookie pitcher Garrett Crochet was thrown into the fire as a late-season callup. Crochet (5G 6IP 0ERA .5WHIP 8SO 0BB) only appeared in five games, but man, he made a considerable impression. Almost immediately, the comparisons to Chris Sale began. Crochet made an appearance in an elimination playoff game against the Oakland Athletics after manager Rick Renteria pulled starting pitcher Dane Dunning. Renteria noted a slight dip in Crochet’s pitching speed and pulled him from the game out of an abundance of caution.
This season Crochet will be used as the “do it all” reliever for the team, and as confidence builds, he is likely to move back into a starting role. Crochet is only 21 and has a chance to be one of the best relievers in one of the best bullpens in the MLB.
With these three young and talented pitchers, the White Sox reign of terror is about to begin. With all this pitching talent, it’s easy to imagine the southside is celebrating another World Series title.