is fourth in the International League with 50 strikeouts (in 49 innings) and ninth with a 2.94 ERA.

Lopez has been happy with the consistency of his fastball and curveball all season. The slider has been coming around and that has elevated Lopez’s overall game.

“That’s a pitch that I try to incorporate into my repertoire,” Lopez said through a translator. “I know that’s a good pitch if I can command that pitch. I have to have a real sense of that pitch, but besides that I’ve been trying to command all my pitches, not just the slider.

“(The slider) has been effective, but I need to keep my focus on the command of all my pitches because when you try to focus just on one, the other pitches are not going to be as effective as they are supposed to be.”

It looks like the White Sox are going to need another starter after Dylan Covey exited Tuesday’s start against the Diamondbacks with left-oblique soreness.

If Covey has to go on the disabled list, Lopez looks like a prime candidate to fill the spot.

Then again, the Sox want to avoid plugging their top prospects into roles caused by injury.

Lopez is on an obvious roll, but is he ready to join the major-league rotation on a permanent basis? Would the White Sox be willing to potentially burn a year of service time by bringing the right-hander up now?

Those are questions that need to be answered soon.