Tuesday night marked another step forward in the Chicago White Sox rebuild. No. 6 Prospect Lucas Giolito made his first start with the White Sox since coming over in the Adam Eaton deal. While he didn’t necessarily have his best stuff, Giolito had a solid outing, nonetheless. Did he have some command issues? Yes, but that was to be expected in his first Major League start of the season. While his mistakes led to 3 home runs and 4 earned runs across 6 innings, Giolito had 4 strikeouts and gave up no walks. His fastball looked decent and if he continues to work on his curve and throw it consistently for strikes, he could have a deadly weapon in his arsenal. In order to gauge how other fans felt, we asked some to give their take on Giolito’s start. Here are the reactions we received:
Jake Remus (@JakeRemus49)
His fastball, at times, looked like it had considerable sink and when he commanded it down in the zone, it got a lot of swings and misses. But random variance in command when throwing so many fastballs will eventually catch up to him no matter what and he’s bound to lose one or throw one right down the middle. His curve is massive but it looks like that may be a detriment in that it will be extremely hard to drop in consistently. If he can hone it and get a slider over as well, he honestly has the upside of an easy number 2. But if the way he looked tonight starts a trend, he may be nothing more than a decent innings eater.
@EntitledStream
Breaking balls weren’t hitting early on, but he overcame that. All earned runs were by home runs which is what I would prefer out of any prospect in their 1st outing, because it shows they have to get control of the count early. Same thing happens with Rodon when he’s getting lit up, then he learns from his mistakes. Giolito has the potential to learn as he has shown in the minor leagues. Even better, he now has Don Cooper to help him with it.
Matt @mateodechicago
Made some mistakes but definitely flashed some of the stuff that made him a top prospect. Coop and co. definitely have something to work with.
Patrick Brennan @varsitybassfish
I was very pleased with the outing. I had no idea his curveball had that much movement. If he can gain a little more command on that pitch, it will be an issue for opposing hitters. I thought he had a good mound presence, and I liked that he seemed to rebound quickly after mistakes in location were made. Saw everything I was looking for tonight.
Kevin Steadman @kevin_steadman
I like the fact that he did not walk anybody. I would like to see more variety, however.
Bob Loblaw (@sacks_packed)
I was at the game in the first row of the LF bleachers. Honestly expected a better atmosphere for Gio’s first start so I was a little underwhelmed with the turnout. Regardless, he tossed a good game and despite a couple of pitches, had a solid outing. Definitely a positive first start.
Warren Dawes (@Warren_Dawes)
From section 520, he looked okay…. lots of balls that bounced/skipped. He owes Narvaez a round for not letting any past. His pitch speed was good, consistently hitting 90-96 mph on heaters and 83-87 mph on change according to the pitch speed displayed on the scoreboard. Pretty good at striking out guys down in the count, with only a couple walks.
With Reynaldo Lopez spending the next week or so on the disabled list, Sox fans should expect to see Lucas Giolito make at least one more start for the Sox. Though the Sox have not made it official, it seems very likely that Giolito will be spending the rest of the season in the majors. Derek Holland’s struggles continue to show that another starter is needed in the rotation to help eat innings and save the bullpen from a giant workload. Plus, keeping Giolito on board allows him to gain more experience while working with Don Cooper to sharpen certain aspects of his game. Once Reynaldo returns, Sox fans should get a nice glimpse at what next year’s rotation will feel like with Rodon, Lopez, and Giolito leading the way.
