Kopech allowed one unearned run on two hits and a walk while striking out three over 2.1 innings in Saturday's game against the Royals.

EDGE Analysis

Kopech showed some escapability in his second spring outing, stranding runners at third in each of the first two innings. He wasn't pinpoint with his control Saturday, but has submitted respectable numbers thus far, having allowed just one walk while striking out five over 4.1 innings. Kopech will start the season at Triple-A Charlotte, where his marching orders are to develop his changeup as a viable pitch and command of his fastball. If he's able to do that with the Knights, Kopech should pitch for the White Sox at some point this season.

Kopech allowed two hits and struck out three batters over two scoreless innings in Monday's game against the Athletics.

EDGE Analysis

The most important part of the day was no walks and getting his secondary pitches over for strikes, an area of focus for Kopech this spring. "I got behind in the count a couple of times and it gave me an opportunity to really work on my changeup and off-speed pitches," the 21-year-old told Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. "I think 2-0 I threw a changeup three times and it helped me really focus on staying behind it and getting a strike with the pitch." It was a strong performance out of the gate for Kopech, who is expected to start the season at Triple-A Charlotte and could work his way up to Chicago later in the season.

Kopech will make his first Cactus League start Monday against the Athletics, Richard Justice of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

As the White Sox's second-ranked prospect, per RotoWire, Kopech will garner much interest during spring training. The right-hander made significant progress in 2017, improving his walk rate, which had dogged Kopech since he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2014. The 21-year-old is not expected to break camp with the big-league club, however, he could make his MLB debut later this season.

Kopech has been invited to the White Sox's major-league camp this spring, James Fegan of The Athletic Chicago reports.

EDGE Analysis

While Kopech isn't expected to break camp with the White Sox, the team will see how its top pitching prospect fares against major-league competition in anticipation of a potential late-season callup in 2018. The 21-year-old flamethrower finished the 2017 campaign with a 2.88 ERA and 172:65 K:BB across 25 starts between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. He's expected to return to Charlotte to start the upcoming season, but if he picks up where he left off in the second half of 2017 (1.29 ERA, 71:12 K:BB in 56 innings), there's a good chance he'll make his major-league debut sometime in the latter half of 2018.

Kopech is not expected to break spring training in the White Sox's starting rotation, but could reach Chicago at some point in 2018, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports. "I'm anxious for him to get there and stay there," White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said. "I'm anxious to see the continued work we will put into Spring Training but also the continued work he will get to continue to improve, because for a lot of these guys, not only Kopech, their time is coming."

EDGE Analysis

Kopech reached Triple-A Charlotte last season, increasing his inning count to 134.1. The right-hander with the legendary fastball improved his command, a bugaboo since he was drafted by Boston in 2014, dropping his BB/9 from 6.00 during the first half to 2.71 in the second half. If he continues on the same path that he finished up last season, we could see Kopech at in the second half. That's the same path followed by fellow prospect Reynaldo Lopez, who made eight starts in the majors after 22 (121.0 IP) at Charlotte.

Kopech was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

EDGE Analysis

He has three double-digit strikeout games in his last four starts with Double-A Birmingham, so this promotion was well deserved. Kopech has the best strikeout stuff in the minors (31.8 percent strikeout rate), but walks remain an issue (12.3 percent walk rate). Still, those free passes did not prevent him from posting a 2.87 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, as he limited the opposition to 77 hits in 119.1 innings. He is not on the 40-man roster and does not need to be added in the offseason, so it seems highly unlikely that we will see him in the majors until 2018.

Kopech, 21, has a 39:3 K:BB over his last 28 innings for Double-A Birmingham.

EDGE Analysis

During that time period, a span of four starts, Kopech has allowed just two earned runs. He leads the Southern League in strikeouts, and his control has been vastly improved of late. Kopech is making a push to be considered the top pitching prospect in baseball heading into the 2018 campaign.

Kopech has been selected to participate in the All-Star Futures Game as part of the festivities leading up the All-Star Game.

EDGE Analysis

Kopech has struggled to give Double-A Birmingham length this season, having completed six innings just five times in 15 starts and once over his last seven outings. He's walked 49 batters over 75 innings while averaging just five innings per start, but the electric fastball and high-strikeout numbers (11.6 K/9) make him a top prospect in baseball. The right-hander needs to clean up his control or he'll be headed to the bullpen.

Kopech won the White Sox minor-league pitcher of the month award for May, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports.

EDGE Analysis

Kopech, who fanned 10 over 5.2 innings for Double-A Birmingham on Wednesday, finished the month 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 35 innings. The 21-year-old right-hander with the legendary fastball initially struggled with control, throwing strikes on just 57 percent of his pitches with an 8.2 BB/9 through the first three starts, but has improved to 64 percent and 4.7 over his most recent seven starts. That has led to him getting deeper into games and developing on a quicker schedule.

Kopech (ankle) allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out eight in six innings for Double-A Birmingham on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

He was scratched from his previous start due to a sprained ankle, but the issue was minor and he was able to make his fifth start of the season against Double-A Mississippi. Kopech has a 3.00 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 35 percent strikeout rate thus far, as his stuff is just too filthy for his 15.5 percent walk rate to lead to much trouble. However, he will need really improve his control to have sustained success as a starter in the big leagues.