Michael Kopech Bio
Michael Talbert Kopech is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft, Kopech made his major league debut with the White Sox in 2018 and later won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2024.
Early Life and Background
Michael Talbert Kopech was born on April 30, 1996, in Mount Pleasant, Texas. He grew up in the same east Texas community where he later attended Mount Pleasant High School. During his high school years, Kopech developed a baseball rivalry that turned into a friendship with Patrick Mahomes, the future NFL quarterback who also came from the Mount Pleasant area.
As a senior at Mount Pleasant High School, Kopech posted a 3–0 win–loss record with a 0.44 earned run average (ERA) in 11 games. He struck out 129 batters and issued only 18 walks across 64 innings pitched. His dominant high school performance earned him 2014 Perfect Game First-Team All-American honors and a commitment to attend the University of Arizona.
Path to Baseball
Kopech never played for the University of Arizona. Instead, the Boston Red Sox selected him in the first round, with the 33rd overall pick, of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with Boston and received a $1.6 million signing bonus, beginning his professional career in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League.
In 2015, Kopech advanced to the Greenville Drive of the Single-A South Atlantic League, where he went 4–5 with a 2.63 ERA in 15 games and earned a spot in the SAL All-Star Game. After a 50-game suspension in mid-2015 for testing positive for the banned substance Oxilofrine, he returned to form in 2016 between the Lowell Spinners and Salem Red Sox, posting a combined 2.08 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 56⅓ innings and earning Carolina League Player of the Month honors for August.
Michael Kopech Career
Early Career (2014–2017)
Kopech’s early professional years were marked by rapid promotion and growing attention for his high-velocity fastball. According to Baseball America, he threw one of the fastest pitches in professional baseball history against the Wilmington Blue Rocks on July 13, 2016, regularly sitting at 98 mph and touching 105 mph with multiple radar guns in Salem. After the 2016 season, he pitched for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.
On December 6, 2016, the Red Sox traded Kopech, Yoán Moncada, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for ace left-hander Chris Sale. With the White Sox organization, Kopech starred for the Double-A Birmingham Barons in 2017 and was named to the U.S. team of the All-Star Futures Game. He was promoted to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on August 18, 2017, after posting a 2.87 ERA with 155 strikeouts in 119⅓ innings across 22 starts.
Chicago White Sox Debut (2018–2020)
Kopech began the 2018 season at Triple-A Charlotte and was promoted to the major leagues on August 21, 2018. He made his debut that day against the Minnesota Twins, striking out four batters without allowing a run before rain cut his outing short after two innings. His first MLB strikeout was of Miguel Sanó. At the time of his debut, Kopech was ranked the 13th best prospect in all of MLB.
He made four starts in 2018 before undergoing Tommy John surgery on September 18, 2018, which forced him to miss the remainder of the 2018 season and all of 2019. On July 10, 2020, Kopech announced he would sit out the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking his third straight year without a full major league campaign.
Bullpen Transition and Rotation Return (2021–2023)
The White Sox moved Kopech to the bullpen for the 2021 season to manage his innings after two missed years. He appeared in 44 games with four starts, going 4–3 with a 3.50 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 69⅓ innings. In the 2021 American League Division Series against the Houston Astros, Kopech picked up his first career postseason win.
Kopech returned to the starting rotation in 2022 and made 25 starts, posting a 5–9 record with a 3.54 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 119⅓ innings, though he led the major leagues in walk percentage at 11.5%. On January 13, 2023, he agreed to a one-year, $2.05 million contract with the White Sox to avoid salary arbitration. He struggled in 2023, going 5–12 with a 5.43 ERA in 27 starts, and underwent season-ending surgery on September 22 to remove a cyst from his right knee.
Los Angeles Dodgers and World Series Title (2024)
Despite preferring to stay in the rotation, the White Sox moved Kopech back to the bullpen to open the 2024 season. On July 10, 2024, he became the second White Sox pitcher to throw an immaculate inning and the first since Sloppy Thurston in 1923, recording a save against the Twins. On July 29, 2024, Chicago traded Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team deal.
In 24 games for the Dodgers, Kopech posted a 4–0 record with a 1.13 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and six saves across 24 innings. During the 2024 postseason, he pitched 3⅓ scoreless innings in the National League Division Series, recorded a win in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, and started the clinching Game 6 as an opener. He appeared in four games of the 2024 World Series, helping the Dodgers win the championship.
2025 Season
Kopech entered 2025 recovering from offseason arm inflammation, which delayed his spring training and forced him to begin the year on the injured list. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 1 and did not return to the Dodgers roster until June 7. After eight scoreless appearances with eight strikeouts in seven innings, he underwent surgery on July 9 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and returned to the 60-day injured list. Kopech rejoined the Dodgers on September 1 but was shut down again on September 19 with right knee inflammation, ending his season with just 14 appearances.
Driving Style and Strengths
Kopech is widely recognized for an overpowering fastball that has touched triple digits throughout his career, paired with a sharp slider that fuels high strikeout totals. His transition between starting and relieving has shown versatility, while his ability to record swings and misses out of the bullpen has been a defining trait, highlighted by his historic immaculate inning in 2024.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Kopech’s signature moments are his MLB debut on August 21, 2018, his immaculate inning on July 10, 2024, and his role in the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series championship run. He also became a notable name in velocity lore after a 2016 start in which he was credited with a 105 mph pitch, and an offseason workout in 2017 produced an unofficial 110 mph reading with a lighter ball.
Michael Kopech Career Wins
Michael Kopech’s verified major league career includes regular-season decisions, postseason wins, and saves across his time with the White Sox and Dodgers. His totals reflect a career shaped by injuries and frequent role changes between starting and relieving.
MLB Highlights
Kopech earned his first MLB win during his debut season in 2018 and added bullpen and rotation decisions through his White Sox tenure. After joining the Dodgers in 2024, he posted a 4–0 record with a 1.13 ERA in 24 regular-season games, and recorded his first career postseason win in Game 3 of the 2024 NLCS.
Other Performances
Kopech has notched wins and saves across multiple minor league levels, including the South Atlantic League, Carolina League, and Southern League. His most notable minor league honor came in 2016, when he was named Carolina League Player of the Month for August while pitching for the Salem Red Sox.
Michael Kopech Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Public information about Michael Kopech’s parents and siblings is limited, and detailed family background beyond his Mount Pleasant, Texas roots has not been widely reported.
Personal Life
In 2019, Kopech announced his engagement to Canadian actress Vanessa Morgan, and the two married in January 2020. Kopech filed for divorce in June 2020, and Morgan gave birth to their son in January 2021. In May 2022, Kopech took a brief paternity leave from the White Sox for the birth of his second child with fitness instructor Morgan Eudy. As of mid-2023, Kopech and Eudy were engaged and expecting their second child together, and Eudy also has a daughter from a previous relationship.
2025 Season Performance
Michael Kopech’s 2025 campaign was largely defined by injury setbacks that limited him to 14 appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After missing the start of the year with arm inflammation, he returned in early June and posted eight scoreless outings before undergoing right knee meniscus surgery in July.
His second-half return in September was again cut short by right knee inflammation, and he finished the year struggling with command, walking 13 batters in 11 innings while allowing three runs. With his Dodgers tenure ending, Kopech entered free agency looking to reestablish his career in 2026.