It wasn’t a horrible debut for the future of the White Sox starting rotation Michael Kopech, but a rain delay and subsequent yank ruined any chance of momentous occasion for the youngster. The right hander gets another chance today in the August 26th AL free pick as Chicago looks to take 3 out of 4 in Detroit. There’s good value on the White Sox today (CHW -121) but are they somehow overvalued?
Kopech Should Be Great With First Game Jitters Out of the Way
The White Sox called up Kopech for the start on August 21st and he didn’t disappoint – albeit in a small dose. The young right hander struck out 4 in 2 innings of work before a rain delay brought a halt to that outing. He did allow 3 hits in those two innings however but you have to contribute some of that to the pressure of your first MLB game and in front of a big home crowd. In the August 26th AL free pick Kopech will have his first game nervousness out of the way and will be throwing in Detroit which seems to bode well for a White Sox pick today.
Of course it wouldn’t hurt the rookie starter if the Chicago bats can keep firing on all cylinders. The Sox have scored 6+ runs in three of the last four games including outscoring the Tigers 12-4 in wins the last two days. Jose Abreu is out until at least mid-September if not the rest of the season which hurts the White Sox offense, but CF Ryan LaMarre has picked up some slack with a .429 average over the last 7 days. Matt Davidson is 6-12 with 2HR off today’s Detroit starter Jordan Zimmermann so the White Sox should be able to put up some runs today. Oddsmakers have set the O/U at just 8.5 however.
Detroit Getting Some Love From the Public…For Some Reason
The White Sox are by no means a good team this year, but they have a young gun with ace potential on the mound today and have hit the ball well lately. Detroit meanwhile is 3-7 over their last 10 but are listed at just +105 in the August 26th AL free pick and actually opened at -110. The Tigers have been held to 3 runs or less in 4 of the last 5 games and have dropped two in a row to Chicago. Obviously no Tigers batters have ever faced Kopech since it’s just his 2nd MLB start but they also have just 4 HR over the last week. Jose Iglesias (.375) and Nick Castellanos (.333) are the only two everyday Detroit players hitting above .300 over the past week. It could be shaping up to be a low scoring affair today.
The public actually is leaning towards Detroit on Sunday afternoon which seems weird considering they are 2-5 in Jordan Zimmermann’s last 7 starts. The Tigers have also dropped 4 of 5 on Sundays if you put any stock into trends like that. The White Sox have also won 4 of the last 5 meetings and have won 5 of their last 6 road contests. Zimmermann has pitched well lately, allowing 2ER or less in 3 of his last 4 but that one outing was a 6ER surrendered contest on August 15th against these White Sox. Chicago has hit .360 across 86 AB against the Detroit starter and are 5-2 in their last 7 against any RH starter. This coupled with the potential for a great outing from their young pitcher is why the Sox are the play today.
American League Free Pick: Chicago White Sox -121
