THSB All-Decade Team: Michael Kopech, RHP, Mt. Pleasant, 2014

Michael Kopech was a RHP who played for the Mount Pleasant Tigers 2011-2014. In his senior season, Kopech was 8-2 with a 0.44 ERA and 129 Ks in 64 innings while giving up only 18 walks. He was named the Texas Sports Writers Association 4A Player of the Year.

In his junior season, Kopech was 6-4 with a 1.74 ERA, striking out 105 and walking only 24 in 60.1 innings. He was named a 14-4A 1st Team All-District Pitcher.

Kopech signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Arizona. He was selected in the 1st Round of the 2014 MLB Draft with the 33rd overall pick by the Boston Red Sox. He signed with the Red Sox on June 16 with a signing bonus of $1.5 million.

Kopech pitched in the Red Sox organization from 2014-2016. He was selected to play in the South Atlantic League All-Star game in 2015 and was named the Carolina League Player of the Month in August of 2016. Kopech is believed to have thrown one of the fastest pitches in professional baseball history on July 13, 2016 when he hit 105 on several different radars.

In December 2016, Kopech was part of a trade that sent him to the White Sox for Chris Sale. During his time in the White Sox organization, Kopech was selected to the Southern League All-Star Game and was later named to the U.S. team of the 2017 All-Star Futures Game.

Kopech was promoted to the Major Leagues on August 21, 2018 and made his debut with the White Sox on that day. He struck out 4 batters and allowed no runs in 2 innings in a rain shortened game. He finished the season 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 4 starts. In September, Kopech underwent Tommy John surgery that put him out for the rest of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 season.

The complete 20 member THSB All-Decade Team can be found in the 2020 Preseason THSB Magazine.