Has one son: River...Graduated in 2014 from Mount Pleasant (Texas) High School...went 3-0 with a 0.44 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 11 appearances as a senior...was a two-time Perfect Game All-American...Opposed Super Bowl LIV Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes on 3/11/14...Mahomes, pitching for Whitehouse High School, threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts in a 2-1 victory over Mount Pleasant...Kopech allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with 12 strikeouts over 6.0 IP...Committed to play baseball at the University of Arizona before signing with the Red Sox.
2021
Spent his first full season in the major leagues, making 44 appearances out of the bullpen and four starts in his first professional season since 2018...Missed the entire 2019 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and opted out of the 2020 campaign...Went 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA (3 ER/14.0 IP) and 23 strikeouts over four starts and 3-3 with a 3.90 ERA (24 ER.55.1 IP), 80 strikeouts and 14 holds in 40 relief appearances...his 36.1 percent strikeout rate ranked third on the team behind Liam Hendriks (42.3) and Craig Kimbrel (36.7)...Throwing Missiles: Threw 19 pitches at 100.0-plus mph, 243 at 98.0-plus and 678 at 95.0-plus (threw 1,154 total pitches)...Bullpen Breakdown: Averaged 13.01 strikeouts per 9.0 IP out of the bullpen, the third-highest total in franchise history (min. 50.0 IP)...28 of his 40 relief appearances were scoreless...threw 2.0-plus IP 12 times, including a season-high 3.0 IP on three occasions...Left and Right: Limited left-handers to a .176/.222/.370 (19-108) average with 54 strikeouts...struck out 54 of the 117 batters he faced (46.2 IP) ... right-handers batted .235/.315/.376 (35-149) with 49 strikeouts (29.2 percent rate)...When it Rains it Pours: Gave up 14 of his 24 runs as a reliever over three outings: five in 1.0 IP on 7/31 vs. Cleveland and 8/26 at Toronto and four in 1.1 IP on 9/4 at Kansas City...Made his first career Opening Day roster...Worked 2.0-plus IP in each of his first three relief appearances over the White Sox first nine games...became the first Sox right-handed reliever to toss 2.0-plus IP in three of the team's first nine games of a season since David Aardsma in 2007...Made his season debut on 4/2 at the Angels, earning the victory in relief...struck out three batters over 2.0 hitless IP (six pitches at 99.0-plus mph)...it marked his second career win, first in relief and first MLB appearance since 9/5/18 vs. Detroit...Struck out five batters over 2.0 scoreless IP in his second outing on 4/5 at Seattle...Started on 4/18-2 at Boston, allowing one run on one hit with four strikeouts in 3.0 IP of a ND...retired the first nine batters in order...marked his first start since 4/15/18 vs. Cleveland, his final outing before elbow surgery...made his first career appearance against the Red Sox (drafted him in the 2014 first round)...Avoiding Contact: Made his second start on 4/25 vs. Texas, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts over 5.0 IP...fanned 10 through 4.0 IP, joining Carlos Rodón (7/25/17 at the Cubs; 11 SO/4.0 IP) as the only White Sox starters to accomplish that feat...joined Rodón and Gio González (8/17/20 vs. Detroit; 10 SO/4.2 IP) as the only Sox starters with 10-plus strikeouts in 5.0 IP or less...Worked 3.0 scoreless IP in relief on 5/1 vs. Cleveland, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts...marked his third consecutive appearance of at least 3.0 IP...Posted a 0.69 ERA (1 ER/13.0 IP) over 11 appearances from 5/24-7/28, including a streak of seven straight scoreless appearances (8.0 IP) to start that stretch...Was placed on the injured list on 5/31 (retro to 5/28) with a strained left hamstring...was reinstated on 6/30...earned the win in his first appearance off the IL on 7/1 vs. Minnesota, retiring all three batters he faced...Made his first career plate appearance on 7/25 at Milwaukee, grounding out...gave up five runs in 1.0 IP on 7/31 vs. Cleveland as his season ERA rose from 1.52 to 2.55...His ERA was at 2.72 entering his appearance on 8/26 at Toronto when he allowed five runs on four hits over 1.0 IP...gave up four runs on four hits over 1.1 IP on 9/4 at Kansas City as his ERA increased to a season-high 4.00...Registered a 1.76 ERA (3 ER/15.1 IP) over his final nine outings (one start), striking out 26 batters...Made his final start on 9/23-2 at Cleveland, retiring all six batters faced with four strikeouts...Threw 3.0 scoreless IP in relief on 9/29 vs. Cincinnati...also threw 3.0 IP in relief in the season finale on 10/3 vs. Detroit, allowing one run with a career-high six strikeouts...Appeared in two games of the ALDS vs. Houston, going 1-0 with a 18.00 ERA (6 ER/3.0 IP) and five strikeouts...earned the win in Game 3 in Chicago despite allowing three runs on four hits and one homer in 2.1 IP.
2020
Opted out of the shortened, 60-game regular season for personal reasons in July... Preseason Baseball America Rankings: No. 3 prospect and possessing the Best Fastball and Best Slider in the White Sox organization; No. 33 prospect in baseball...Preseason MLB.com Rankings: No. 3 prospect in the Sox system; No. 20 overall and No. 4 RHP prospect in baseball.
2019
Missed the entire season while recovering from Tommy John surgery performed on 9/18/18 in a procedure in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache ... Preseason Baseball America Rankings: No. 2 prospect in the Sox organization; No. 21 prospect in baseball ... Preseason MLB.com Rankings: No. 2 prospect in the Chicago system; No. 19 prospect overall and No. 3 right-handed pitcher in baseball.
2018
Spent most of the season with Class AAA Charlotte before making his first four major-league starts with the White Sox … two of his three home starts were shortened by rain ... His contract was purchased from Charlotte on 8/21 … made his major-league debut that night vs. Minnesota, allowing three hits with no walks and four strikeouts over 2.0 scoreless IP of a no decision … fanned Miguel Sanó in the first inning for his first career strikeout … was removed before the top of the third following a 56-minute rain delay ... Earned his first win on 8/26 at Detroit after giving up one run on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts over 6.0 IP … became the first pitcher since at least 1908 to allow one run or less with no walks in each of his first two major-league starts ... Worked 3.0 scoreless IP on 9/1 vs. Boston (his former club), allowing one hit … was removed from the game following a 2:09 rain delay … became just the third pitcher since at least 1908 to allow one run or less and one walk or less in each of his first three MLB starts, joining St. Louis' Donovan Osborne (1992) and Cleveland's Cody Anderson (2015) ... Suffered his first loss on 9/5 vs. the Tigers after allowing seven runs on nine hits (four home runs) ... Was diagnosed on 9/6 with a torn right ulnar collateral ligament … underwent successful Tommy John surgery on 9/18 ... Went 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA (52 ER/126.1 IP), 170 strikeouts and a .219 (101-461) opponents average in 24 starts with Charlotte … at the time of his promotion, led all MiLB pitchers in strikeouts and led the International League in SO/9.0 IP (12.11) ... Struck out 10-plus batters on 4/20 at Indianapolis (10), 6/8 vs. Lehigh Valley (10) and 7/14 at Durham (11) … fanned nine batters six times and eight batters on five occasions ... Was named the White Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April after posting a 2.14 ERA (5 ER/21.0 IP) with 29 strikeouts and a .189 (14-74) opponents average over four starts ... Went 4-0 with a 1.84 ERA (9 ER/44.0 IP), four walks and 59 strikeouts over his last seven starts from 7/14-8/16 … did not issue a walk over his final 24.0 IP ... Entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect and possessing the Best Fastball in the White Sox system (No. 11 overall prospect in baseball) … was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 2 prospect in the Sox system, No. 10 overall and No. 3 RHP prospect in baseball.
2017
Went 9-8 with a 2.88 ERA (43 ER/134.1 IP) and 172 strikeouts over 25 starts between Class AA Birmingham (22 starts) and Class AAA Charlotte (three starts) in his first season in the White Sox organization ... His 172 strikeouts tied for the fifth-highest total in the minor leagues and were second-most among Sox farmhands behind Alec Hansen (191) ... Averaged 11.5 strikeouts per 9.0 IP and limited opponents to a .193 (92-476) average ... Was named the Most Outstanding Pitcher in the Southern League after ranking among the league leaders in strikeouts (2nd, 155), ERA (4th, 2.87) and WHIP (6th, 1.15) ... Became the first Barons pitcher to win the award since Mark Buehrle in 2000 … was a SL midseason and postseason All-Star ... Was a two-time White Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Month honoree, earning the distinction in May and August/September. l Struck out 10-plus batters five times ... Made his season debut on 4/8 at Jackson, receiving a no decision after allowing two runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts over 4.1 IP … earned his first win on 4/25 vs. Jacksonville, allowing one hit with eight strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless IP ... Went 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA (9 ER/35.0 IP), 47 strikeouts and a .167 opponents average (20-120) over six starts in May … struck out 10 for the second time on 5/31 vs. Chattanooga ... Worked 8.0 scoreless IP on 7/20 vs. Jackson, allowing four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts ... Recorded double-digit strikeouts in three of his final four outings with Barons: 7/26 at Chattanooga (1 ER/6.0 IP; 12 SO), 8/5 at Jacksonville (0 ER/7.0 IP; 11 SO) and 8/12 vs. the Lookouts (0 ER/7.0 IP; 10 SO) ... Was promoted to the Knights on 8/18 for the remainder of the season … made his Charlotte debut on 8/21 at Norfolk, earning the win after allowing two runs on six hits over 5.0 IP ... Surrendered two runs with seven strikeouts in his final start of the season on 9/1 vs. the Tides. l Following the season, was rated by MLB.com as the No. 9 overall prospect in baseball and No. 2 in the White Sox system ... Entered the season ranked by MLB.com as the No. 3 Prospect in the Sox organization and No. 30 in baseball … was rated by Baseball America as the No. 32 Prospect in baseball and No. 5 Prospect and possessing the Best Fastball in the Sox system.
2016
Spent most of the the season at Class A Salem, where he went 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA (13 ER/52.0 IP), 82 strikeouts and a .147 (25-171) opponents average...Averaged 14.2 strikeouts per 9.0 IP with Salem and limited left-handers to a .120 (12-100) average... Began the season on the disabled list with a broken right hand suffered in spring training … made one rehab start for Advanced Rookie Lowell on 6/17 vs. Vermont, throwing 4.1 scoreless IP...Was reinstated from the disabled list on 7/7 and made his Salem debut that night at Carolina, allowing one hit with six strikeouts over 4.0 IP in a no decision...Did not allow a run over his first 13.1 IP of the season, including his only start for Lowell and his first two with Salem...Struck out 10-plus batters four times over a five-start stretch in August, including three in a row from 8/13-24 … gave up one hit and struck out 10 over 6.0 scoreless IP on 8/2 at Wilmington...threw 7.0 scoreless IP on 8/24 at Potomac, allowing just one hit with 10 strikeouts...Owned a 1.23 ERA entering his final start with Salem before giving up six runs over 0.1 IP on 8/31 vs. Winston-Salem...Went 3-0 with 2.01 ERA (5 ER/22.1 IP) and 26 strikeouts over six starts with Surprise in the Arizona Fall League … led the AFL in ERA and ranked second among starting pitchers in strikeouts per 9.0 IP (11.25)...Worked 2.0 perfect IP with three strikeouts in the Fall Stars Game … was named one of two starting pitchers on the AFL Top Prospects team...White Sox acquisition was recommended by Joe Butler, John Tumminia and Keith Staab.
2015
Spent entire season with Greenville, where he was named to the South Atlantic League mid-season All-Star Team … averaged 9.7 strikeouts per 9.0 IP (70 ER/65.0 IP) ... Allowed three runs or less in all 15 of his starts, including one run or no runs eight times … Was named SAL Pitcher of the Week for 4/20-26 after going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA (10.0 IP) and four hits allowed in two starts … Following the season, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 5 Prospect in the Red Sox organization … also was rated by Baseball America as posessing the best fastball in the SAL, as well as the best fastball and slider in the Red organization.
2014
Made eight starts with the GCL Red Sox in his pro debut … limited opponents to a .216 (11-51) opponents average and averaged 10.5 strikeouts per 9.0 IP (16 ER/13.2 IP) ... Was signed by Tim Collinsworth.
