March 11 (UPI) -- Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech showed he still has a very live arm after Tommy John surgery by tossing multiple pitches clocked at more than 100 mph during a spring training game against the Texas Rangers.
Kopech tossed the fireballs during the White Sox's 9-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. Ten of his 11 pitches reached triple digits on the radar gun.
"After that first batter I just kind of settled in and hit the glove," Kopech told reporters. "Even on my slider and my curveball, I felt I was able to throw it pretty much where I wanted it and I was able to throw it with conviction.
"I was pretty comfortable with everything."
Kopech, 23, hadn't appeared in a game since having Tommy John surgery in September 2018. He began Tuesday's game by forcing Eli White and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to ground out in the first two at-bats. Kopech then struck out Greg Bird. He was replaced by Drew Anderson in the top of the second inning.
Kopech clocked 100, 101, 100 and 101 mph on his four pitches to White. He forced Kiner-Falefa to ground out on another 101-mph pitch. He also struck out Bird with a 101-mph throw.
The White Sox pitcher entered the league as the No. 33 overall pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 2014 MLB Draft. The Red Sox sent Kopech to the White Sox as part of the Chris Sale trade in 2016.
That trade also sent Yoan Moncada, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz to the White Sox. Kopech went 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA in four games for the White Sox in 2018.
The White Sox continue spring training with a game against the Colorado Rockies at 4:10 p.m. EDT on Wednesday at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz.
