Chicago White Sox: Expectations rise for rookie Lucas Giolito

In his most recent start, Chicago White Sox rookie Lucas Giolito went seven innings and struck out 10 Tampa Bay Rays. It was his second straight productive outing for the hard-luck White Sox. With a few weeks left to impress them, what can we expect from the former number-one MLB prospect?

The 2017 season was a rough one for Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito. Through 24 Triple-A starts, Giolito was 6-10 with a 4.48 ERA. He walked batters at a rate of 4.1 per nine and got knocked around for an average of 8.5 hits per nine as well. Needless to say, it was a forgettable debut season with the White Sox organization.

Since 2013, Giolito has been on the radar as a top prospect. He climbed the lists quickly. In 2015 and 2016, Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus considered him a top-10 minor leaguer. His status slid in the preseason rankings and fell even further when they were updated mid-year.

This didn’t stop the White Sox from promoting Giolito. For as poorly as he did pitch this year, it was necessary to see what he could do at the big league level.

For the rest of 2017, Giolito should pitch every fifth day. Chicago has no reason to hold him back other than to save his young arm from too many innings.

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Thus far, Giolito has pitched very well for the White Sox. Even in his first outing when he allowed four earned runs, Giolito lasted six innings against the Minnesota Twins. Home runs did the majority of the damage with Giolito surrendering three.

His next time out was far more productive. Giolito tossed seven shutout innings versus the Detroit Tigers while allowing only three hits.

Giolito’s start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday pushed the expectation boundaries further. In his seven innings, Giolito fanned 10 batters. The Rays mustered only three hits and drew a single walk. Giolito’s mastery on the mound in this start gives promise to much better days ahead.

The White Sox aren’t playing the rest of 2017 with much meaning. Giolito, though, is pitching with a lot of purpose. Nothing is guaranteed for next year especially with so many young pitchers also vying for a spot in the 2018 rotation. Giolito is competing against Reynaldo Lopez, Michael Kopech and others for an opportunity to participate in the 2018 White Sox season.

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Giolito is unlikely to turn in too many more 10-strikeout games. Still, he can end the year with a few more wins and a lot more credibility. Expect at least one more great start and one dud from Giolito before the season is through. As a 23-year-old pitcher with a high ceiling, the growing pains are only natural and something that will remain even on the brighter days.