James Shields made his Cactus League debut Thursday against the Rangers, but everyone was focused on Michael Kopech’s start against the Royals at Camelback Ranch.
Shields excelled while Kopech struggled for the first time this spring. Does the White Sox veteran care about being in the shadow of the much-hyped prospect?
“No, man, I’ve been in his shadow all spring training,” Shields said with a grin. “That’s all right. They want to give him some looks. He’s definitely working hard and is going to be good.”
Shields was impressive in his first outing against major-leaguers, allowing one run on a solo home run with three strikeouts in a four-inning, 64-pitch outing.