The Chicago White Sox announced that 22-year old starting pitcher Michael Kopech requires Tommy John surgery and will be out for all of 2018 and 2019, with 2020 spring training being the target return date.

The 22-year-old Kopech debuted on Aug. 21 against the Minnesota Twins. In four games started, Kopech pitched 14.1 innings and struck out 15 batters, posting a 1-1 record with an ERA of 5.02.

Kopech, one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, has turned heads with a fastball that has clocked as high as 110 MPH. He and Yoan Moncada were traded from Boston to Chicago during the 2016 offseason in exchange for ace lefty, Chris Sale.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, Kopech is one of the many young pitchers over the last several seasons that will have missed significant time, due to problems in his throwing arm. Stephen Strasburg, Noah Syndergaard, Alex Reyes, Michael Pineda and LA Angels veteran Garrett Richards are among the many impact arms who have needed the procedure.

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Kopech was having a productive season in Triple-A for the Charlotte Knights of the International League. In 24 starts, he went 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA and struck out 170 batters in 126.1 innings pitched.

The White Sox have been rebuilding for several years now, but they own one of the top farm systems in all of baseball. Kopech and Moncada are among the franchise players this team is trying to build around, so losing him for possibly two calendar years is a brutal blow for the franchise.

With Kopech and a long list of pitchers sadly going through all of these injuries in their throwing arms, one has to expect that MLB teams will start trying to cut back on their workloads. Kopech is only 22 years of age and will miss at least a full season, which is a true shame.

Hopefully, his surgery goes just fine, and Kopech can hit the target return date of the 2020 season.

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