Lopez closed out the year with an outstanding run in September (1.09 ERA), bringing his ERA for the season under 4.00 after it got as high as 4.72 in mid-August. Was it mostly luck, or did Lopez actually figure something out down the stretch? He said last summer that he was focusing on the mental aspect of the game instead of just trying to blow by hitters, continuing lessons instilled by Max Scherzer about scouting hitters, locating and changing visual angles. An important aspect of Lopez's development has been the slider that White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper taught Lopez in 2017. It has since become Lopez's best pitch by Pitch Values. Lopez's strikeout rate soared to 27.6% over the final month, and while it may have been mostly fluky, part of it may have been his maturation as a pitcher and the more granular scouting of his opponents. Further refinement of the changeup is still needed, but there is plausible upside here. Read Past Outlooks