SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The White Sox decided to scrap right-hander Michael Kopech's appearance on Sunday against the D-backs. The plan now is for him to throw three innings in a simulated game on Tuesday at Camelback Ranch along with veteran left-hander Derek Holland.
White Sox manager Rick Renteria said the club simply wants to take pressure off Kopech, the No. 16 prospect in baseball and No. 3 for the White Sox according to MLBPipeline.com, with the idea of getting him back into a Cactus League game again soon.
Kopech struggled in his Cactus League debut, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk in an inning on Feb. 28 against the Mariners. Rather than have him come in behind starter Reynaldo Lopez on Sunday, Renteria said he'd rather have Kopech work in a more controlled environment under the tutelage of pitching coach Don Cooper.
• White Sox Spring Training: Schedule | Information | Tickets
"As Coop says, its 'a working day,'" Renteria said. "Hopefully that goes well and he gets prepared as the spring continues to evolve and we get ready for the season."
Asked if this decision was based on Kopech's last outing, Renteria added: "We just want to see if he can hammer out some things. He didn't throw that bad. The numbers were worse than the showing. We want him to keep his breaking ball down. I know he was trying to bury his breaking balls, trying to finish off hitters.
"Coop's idea is to get him and Holland working together. It gets him into a situation in which Coop can talk to him after every pitch if he wants to."
Worth noting
Carlos Rodon threw another 35-pitch bullpen session on Sunday, and he will throw his third bullpen of the spring on Tuesday, which is an off-day for the White Sox. Because of left-arm fatigue last season, the White Sox have carefully been building up Rondon for game action this spring.
"Right now, we have two scheduled BPs," Renteria said when asked about Rondon's projected progression. "He'll have two days off, throw his BP, have another two days off and throw another BP, and then get him ready to take the mound [in a game]."
Rodon, 24, was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 Draft and made 28 starts for the White Sox last season.