Michael Kopech improves his stock at the perfect time with immaculate performance

The 2024 season has been less than ideal for the Chicago White Sox so far. After splitting a double header with the Twins on Wedensday, the White Sox are now 27-68, the worst in all of baseball.

With the trade deadline drawing near, it is likely the club from the south side of Chicago will be looking to sell. After Michael Kopech tossed the 116th immaculate inning in MLB history, his name may come up a lot.

What is an immaculate inning?

Since this is something that does not happen very often, it is worth noting what exactly an immaculate inning is. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher records three strikeouts on only nine pitches in the inning. The most notable time this happened was in 2022 when the Houston Astros had two separate pitchers record immaculate innings against the same hitters in the same game.

Michael Kopech potential destinations

Aside from his immaculate inning on Wednesday, the White Sox relief pitcher has had a mediocre year at best. He is 2-8 with a 5.18 ERA in 40 innings of work and has only recorded nine saves. However, his win/loss record and low amount of saves are not fair to hold against him, as those are simply the results of pitching for the worst team in baseball.

For his career, Kopech is 17-33 with a 4.42 ERA with experience as a starter and reliever. His upside is that he has explosive strikeout stuff. In his 372.1 innings pitched, Kopech has used his triple-digit fastball and nasty breaking pitches to punch out 412 batters, equalling out to an above-average 25.5 percent strikeout rate, per FanGraphs.

Any team that is looking for pitching help could view Kopech as a potential contract with his $570,000 contract expiring at the end of the season. Acquiring him at this point seems low-risk, high-reward. However, with the White Sox in desperate need of turning the organization in a different direction they could ask for too much in return.

The Balitomore Orioles seem like a perfect fit for Kopech. With Craig Kimbrel at the back end of that bullpen to nail down saves, Kopech would have a great opportunity to be used in high-leverage situations prior to the ninth inning.

Another AL East team that could consider trading for Michael Kopech is the New York Yankees. With the recent struggles of the Bronx Bombers, they have fallen two games behind the O's for the division lead. It is not out of the realm of possibility for Kopech to be converted back to a part-time starter to fill a void in the Yankees rotation.

Nonetheless, Kopech's immaculate inning is more proof he has plenty of potential.