Coming off of a fifty game suspension in 2015 for using a banned substance, highly touted Red Sox pitching prospect Michael Kopech broke his pitching hand in an altercation with his roommate.
Tuesday, the right handed 19-year-old and first round draft choice out of Mount Pleasant High School in 2014 was seen donning a cast on his throwing hand at JetBlue Park in Fort Meyers, Florida.
Boston Red Sox general manager Mike Hazen in a statement to WEEI.com explained that management will deal with the problem internally.
Hazen admitted he was disappointed with Kopech and told reporters, while speaking in Sarasota, that “It was stupid.” He added, “He’s going to have to grow up, obviously, with the things that have happened so far. He’s got a long road to go to get to the big leagues. He obviously has a ton of potential. He’s got a long way to go. These types of things, you don’t want to put more barriers in front of you than playing professional baseball already presents you.”
Last season Kopech missed 50 games when he tested positive for Oxilofrine, a stimulant in violation of the Minor League Drug rules. Oxilofrine is a stimulant of the amphetamine class known to increases adrenaline production, boosting endurance, alertness, focus, and increasing oxygenation of the blood.
The Providence Journal called Kopech one of Boston’s top pitching prospects. The Texas native compiled a 2.63 ERA in 16 games (65 innings) last season for Single-A Greenville before riding the pine for his suspension. On top of that he struck out 70 and gave up only two home runs.
The Red Sox don’t know how long the immature hurler will miss due to his latest shenanigans. “It depends on the severity of the fracture and if we have to do anything with it or not,” Hazen remarked. “Right now we’re unsure exactly. There’s a wide range of timeframes depending on what we have to do. We don’t have those answers yet.”
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