Michael Kopech has been arguably the best reliever in MLB since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they have relied on him as such.
He has now appeared in nine games for the Dodgers, giving up just one hit over 9.1 scoreless innings. In addition, he has struck out 13 hitters compared to just one walk.
First joining the team as a setup man and picking up four holds, Kopech has now essentially become the Dodgers closer, and he’s recorded two saves in his last two outings.
On the down side, he has appeared in three games over their last four days, and that has him feeling fatigued and unavailble for the next few days, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet L.A.:
“He’s gassed. I’m going to give him a couple days to reset. How he was used in Chicago is certainly different. There’s a lot more intensity here, so all of that is kind of playing into it. He’s healthy, but he’s just gassed. It was a big outing for us. Another good one.”
Kopech still managed to pitch a perfect inning and record the save during Sunday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, but he only averaged 96.7 mph on his fastball.
While still a terrific velocity to average, it was 2 mph below his season average. His top pitch velocity of 98.4 mph in the game was also below his season average of 98.7 mph.
Generally, a drop in velocity that significant is a major red flag for a pitcher, and often a sign of injury. However, if Kopech is truly just running on fumes, he should be good to go in a few days.
After throwing just 9.1 total innings in July, 10.2 in June and 8.1 in May with the Chicago White Sox, Kopech is already at 8.1 innings in August with roughly two weeks to go. Because of that, it is reasonable to believe his velocity drop is just related to being fatigued, and the Dodgers certainly hope that’s the case.
Michael Kopech helped Dodgers tie franchise record
When Kopech recorded his first save for the Dodgers, he became the 12th Dodgers pitcher this season to record one, which tied a franchise record that was set in 2022.
Evan Phillips leads the way with 15 saves this season, while Daniel Hudson (nine) and Alex Vesia (five) are the only other Dodgers relievers with more than one.
The group of pitchers this year with one save for the club are Landon Knack, Anthony Banda, Blake Treinen, Ryan Yarbrough, Yohan Ramírez, Brent Honeywell, J.P Feyereisen, Dinelson Lamet and Kopech.
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