4. Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
Considered a viable #1 overall selection in the 2012 draft before he had an elbow injury his senior year of high school that was going to require Tommy John surgery.
The impending surgery caused him to fall to the Nationals at #16, and the team and Giolito have worked well through a TJS recovery procedure that they seem to have mastered before he returned to the mound and began really dominating.
As he got closer to the majors, the Nationals tinkered more and more with Giolito’s mechanics, and finally in 2016, it became too much as he simply lost effectiveness.
Giolito’s raw stuff was still there, but mechanically, he was just so off that he really got teed up at the big league level, giving up 7 home runs in just 21 1/3 innings whereas in the minor leagues before 2016, he had allowed a total of 11 home runs in 253 2/3 innings.
When the Nationals began dangling him as a piece in trade talks this offseason as they pursued an outfielder or a closer, I thought there were three teams that I would really like to see Giolito land – Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or the White Sox.
Giolito has already received rave reviews from coaches and GM Rick Hahn for his work in spring and though he’ll open in AAA, he should not be there long before he makes a splash in the big leagues and establishes himself.
3. Reynaldo Lopez, Chicago White Sox
While I am going against consensus here for sure, Lopez is definitely the guy that I think the Sox stole from the Nationals even more so than Giolito.
Lopez was a light-priced signing at just $17,000 when he was already 18, so later than most Latin players. A small frame guy, he was a pure lottery ticket, and after a year of struggles to get onto the mound due to injury issues, Lopez broke out in 2014, when he posted a 1.08 ERA in 83 1/3 innings across short-season A-ball and low-A with a 0.82 WHIP.
Lopez had a solid season in high-A in 2015, but nothing tremendous, which caused a number of prospect folks to back off of him, though his stuff had actually improved tremendously as he stretched out further as a starter.
Lopez has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can top triple digits with surprising plane from a high arm angle in spite of his 6′ height. He tended to work too much high in the zone with the pitch in the majors, which is not where his pitch is most effective.
His best secondary pitch is a sharp-breaking curve that has excellent velocity and late break for good depth. His change flashed plus, and has some excellent late cut movement when he’s on with the pitch, something he’s added in the last season.
Lopez seemed to struggle to convince the Nationals of where his pitches were most effective as the locations that were incredibly effective in the minor leagues were nowhere near where his pitches were called in the major leagues.
With the White Sox, pitching coach Don Cooper will have a chance to maximize the righty’s electric repertoire in the rotation, and GM Rick Hahn has stated that Lopez will likely be the first starter called up from AAA this season if one is needed.
Next: #2, #1