Lucas Giolito

Lucas Frost Giolito (born July 14, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Lucas Giolito
Giolito trying out virtual reality during 2016 spring training
Chicago White Sox – No. 27
Pitcher
Born: (1994-07-14) July 14, 1994
Santa Monica, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 28, 2016, for the Washington Nationals
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Win–loss record27–26
Earned run average4.60
Strikeouts398
Teams
Career highlights and awards

He attended Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, California, and was selected by the Washington Nationals in the first round in the 2012 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Nationals in 2016. His fastball has been clocked as high as 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).[1][2]

Amateur career

Giolito attended Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, Los Angeles, California. He was part of a Harvard-Westlake baseball team that included Max Fried and Jack Flaherty, with Ethan Katz as their pitching coach.[3][4] In March 2012, his senior year, Giolito sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, sidelining him for the rest of his high school season.[5][6] Giolito had verbally committed to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and play for the UCLA Bruins baseball team.[7][8]

Although some thought he was good enough to be selected with the first overall choice of the 2012 MLB draft,[9][10][11][12][13] concerns about his elbow caused him to fall to the 16th overall selection, where he was picked by the Washington Nationals.[14]

Professional career

Minor leagues

Giolito signed with the Nationals on July 13, 2012—thirty seconds before the deadline—to a minor league contract with a $2.925 million signing bonus.[15] By the end of the month, the team had scheduled Tommy John surgery to repair his injured elbow ligament.[16]

By the following summer, he made eight starts for the Gulf Coast Nationals of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2013 and posted a 2.78 earned run average (ERA). He was promoted to the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League, and allowed one earned run in the 16 innings he pitched.[13] In 2014, Giolito played his first full season of professional baseball with the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A South Atlantic League. He went 10–2 with a 2.20 ERA and 110 strikeouts compared to 28 walks over 20 starts. He was selected as the 2014 South Atlantic League Most Valuable Pitcher and Top Minor League Prospect. He also appeared in the All-Star Futures Game.[17]

Giolito began the 2015 season with the Potomac Nationals of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and received a midseason promotion to the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League.[18] The Nationals assigned Giolito to Harrisburg to start the 2016 season.[19] He received a promotion to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League in July.[20]

Major leagues

Washington Nationals

On June 28, 2016, the Nationals added Giolito to their active roster and he made his major league debut that night against the New York Mets. In his debut, he pitched four shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks, while getting one strikeout.[21]

Chicago White Sox

On December 7, 2016, the Nationals traded Giolito, Reynaldo López, and Dane Dunning to the Chicago White Sox for Adam Eaton.[22] Giolito began the 2017 season with the Charlotte Knights of the International League.[23] On August 27, 2017, Giolito earned his first MLB victory in a 7–1 White Sox victory over the Detroit Tigers. Giolito threw seven scoreless innings yielding only three hits and striking out four Tigers. Giolito finished the season going 3-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 7 starts.

The following season, in 2018, he was part of the starting rotation, making 32 starts for the White Sox, going 10-13 with a 6.13 ERA. In ​173 1⁄3 innings, he struck out 125 but led the American league in walks (90) and earned runs (118), and was 3rd in the league in hit by pitch (15), 4th in wild pitches (13), and 9th in home runs allowed (27).[24] In 2018 he had the highest rate of bases on balls per 9 innings pitched in the majors (4.67), and had the highest WHIP among major league pitchers (1.48).[25][26] He also had the worst left on base percentage of all qualifying major league pitchers, stranding only 63.5% of base runners.[27]

In 2019, Giolito's third season and second in the White Sox starting rotation, he greatly improved from the previous year as he went on a nine game winning streak after starting the year with a 1-1 record. He pitched his first career shutout on May 23rd against the Houston Astros. He was also rewarded AL pitcher of the month for the month of May. His streak ended on June 19th when he gave up six runs against the Chicago Cubs, receiving only his second loss. On June 30, 2019, Giolito was named as one of the American League pitchers for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game, his first All-Star selection. On September 16, 2019, the White Sox shut down Giolito for the rest of the season due to a mild lat strain in his pitching arm.[28] Giolito finished the season with a 14-9 record, a 3.41 ERA, 228 strikeouts and three complete games over ​176 2⁄3 innings in 29 starts.

Personal

Giolito is the son of actress Lindsay Frost and producer Rick Giolito. His grandfather, Warren Frost, was an actor. His brother Casey is also an actor. His uncle, Mark Frost, is a novelist, television screenwriter, and producer, while his other uncle, Scott Frost, is a writer.[29] In December of 2018, Giolito married his high school sweetheart, Ariana Dubelko.

References
  1. Cameron Smith (March 1, 2012). "Superstar prospect Lucas Giolito hits 100 mph on radar gun in first win of season". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  2. "Baseball: Lucas Giolito hits 100 mph, throws one-hitter". Los Angeles Times. February 28, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  4. "San Francisco Giants announce 2019 player development staff and affiliate staffs". MLB.com. January 23, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  5. Eric Sondheimer (March 7, 2012). "Harvard-Westlake pitcher Lucas Giolito sidelined by elbow injury". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  6. "How Lucas Giolito's Injury Could Affect Draft". Baseball America. March 8, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  7. "Baseball: Lucas Giolito commits to UCLA". Los Angeles Times. August 30, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  8. Eric Sondheimer (November 8, 2011). "Harvard-Westlake pitching duo bound for UCLA might not get there". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  9. "Baseball America 2012 Draft: Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. May 15, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  10. "Top 100 draft prospects for 2012". ESPN.com. May 8, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  11. Mayo, Jonathan (May 1, 2012). "MLB.com lines up Top 100 Draft prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  12. "2012 MLB Draft Top Prospects with Scouting Grades". Baseballnewshound.com. June 5, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  13. Wagner, James (February 25, 2014). "Nationals' Lucas Giolito, with surgery in the rearview mirror, flashes 'electric' potential". Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  14. Kilgore, Adam (June 5, 2012). "Nationals draft Lucas Giolito with 16th pick in MLB draft". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  15. Kilgore, Adam (July 13, 2012). "Nationals sign Lucas Giolito (updated) - Nationals Journal". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  16. Kilgore, Adam (August 24, 2012). "Lucas Giolito, the Nationals' top draft pick, will undergo Tommy John surgery". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  17. Emery, Mark (September 25, 2014). "Nats' top prospect Giolito visits Washington". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  18. "Top prospect Lucas Giolito promoted to Harrisburg Senators". The Patriot-News. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  19. "Lucas Giolito to begin 2016 season at Harrisburg, Erick Fedde at Potomac". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  20. Syracuse Chiefs pitcher Lucas Giolito wows 'em in Triple-A debut | syracuse.com
  21. "For Nationals' Lucas Giolito, the stage is officially set". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  22. Merkin, Scott (December 7, 2016). "White Sox acquire Giolito, 2 prospects for Eaton". MLB.com. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  23. Baseball | Knights pitcher Lucas Giolito working on craft in Charlotte | 04.05.17 | Charlotte Observer
  24. Lucas Giolito Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
  25. Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Pitchers » Advanced Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  26. Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Pitchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball
  27. Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Pitchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball
  29. "Lucas Giolito's talent too tantalizing for Nationals to pass on". Washington Times. June 5, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
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