Kopech mows down 11 for Knights

Michael Kopech is more than just his fastball. Yes, the second-ranked White Sox prospect possesses an 80-grade heater that can touch triple digits and has regularly overpowered hitters at every level in the Minors. However, an emphasis on being a fully rounded hurler has him aiming toward developing three other plus pitches.
A sharp-breaking slider was already in his repertoire, and his changeup has become an effective option, but the 22-year-old has added a curveball to his arsenal that was on display Saturday night.

Kopech put all four of his pitches to work as he recorded a season-best 11 strikeouts and yielded a run on four hits and a walk over six frames before Triple-A Charlotte posted a 3-1, 10-inning triumph at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
It was the 12th career double-digit strikeout performance for MLB.com's No. 10 overall prospect and his third this season, with the most recent such effort coming June 8 when he whiffed 10 over six innings against Lehigh Valley. Kopech's career high is 12 punchouts, a feat he accomplished over six frames last July 26 for Double-A Birmingham.
"As a starting pitcher, it's really hard to survive if you're always at max effort," Knights pitching coach Steve McCatty said. "So, we've been working on commanding all the pitches better and incorporating a curveball. He's already got that power slider, but with his velocity, a curveball and changeup are very important, especially at the next level. So, it was good to see that when the slider wasn't really working, he went to the curve and applied the things we've been working on with success."
The right-hander struck out the side on 14 pitches in the first but ran into trouble in the next frame, allowing a leadoff double on an 0-2 slider to Brandon Snyder. Rays No. 9 prospectJustin Williams also caught a hanger and lined a single into center to put runners on the corners. Jason Coats wasted no time knocking in Durham's first run, grounding the first pitch he saw through the left side.
However, the 33rd overall pick in the 2014 Draft was never rattled as he responded by fanning the next three batters -- this time on 16 pitches.
Gameday box score
"It happens. But then what you saw was him making the adjustment to his curveball since the slider wasn't really working, and he went back to what he does best," McCatty said. "He overpowered those guys. He went right at them with fastballs early and set the counts up in his favor where he could use his off-speed stuff to his advantage. It was a great sign of growth from a young guy."
From there, Kopech locked in as he set down 11 of the next 12 hitters, including seven in a row. His only blemish was a one-out walk to Tampa Bay's second-ranked prospect Willy Adames in the third.
After giving up a double to Kean Wong in the fifth, Kopech did not allow another baserunner and finished his outing by fanning the side for a third time in the sixth. He threw 70 of 96 pitches for strikes.

"He's a thoroughbred. This kid works incredibly hard," McCatty said. "One hundred pitches for him is not a big deal, and he maintains his velocity really well but the key now is to harness it. Just trying to go out there and throw as hard as you can isn't a great game plan. We actually talked about it today: the goal is to throw first-pitch strikes, get ahead to a 1-2 count and then stay aggressive using everything. We're not going to beat ourselves... He did that tonight."
Dustin Garneau put the Knights on the board in the third with a homer to left-center off 20th-ranked Rays prospect Yonny Chirinos. Jacob May gave Charlotte its first lead in the 10th with an RBI infield hit off No. 29 prospect Ian Gibaut (3-2). Two batters later, José Rondón plated May with his fourth triple of the season.