White Sox: Breakdown of Giolito, Lopez’s Second MLB Stints
By Brian Draus
White Sox young hurlers have successful second MLB stints, first season on South Side. Just how impressive were both pitchers?
Many Chicago White Sox fans had differing opinions on the Adam Eaton trade this past winter, however one aspect of it clear. That being the fact the club brought back a haul of talented young pitchers. Lucas Giolito was one of them, not to mention Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning. While the latter has yet to reach the big leagues, Giolito and Lopez have already made an impact at 35th and Shields.
Speaking of that, Giolito performed at a high level in his short time on the south side. For those of you who have understood the statistic Magnum Start Value, his September was very good considering the situation. With a MMT of six and a MMA of 1.2, there is no reason to believe he cannot continue his play into next season.
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On top of that, while he posted a serviceable QO-Dot, it was still relevant to say the least. With a 60/40 split between HMP and MHP, it goes to show that two extra quality starts are still excellent in terms of solid outings. Even though Giolito failed to post an outing of eight innings pitched, his YMP tally for 2017 was 42.9 percent not to mention a superior YQP of 71.4 percent. You’ll take that any day from a rookie starting pitcher/
While Lopez may have posted five quality starts in seven outings this season (62.5 percent YQP), his YMP was non-existent. Not only did he fail to record a Magnum Start in his short stint with the Sox, Lopez never went past seven innings one time (Sept. 16 @ Tigers). However, if you look into Lopez’s traditional statistics they were serviceable with one exception, that being strikeouts.
Any time a hard thrower fails to record a strikeout in 6.1 innings (Sept. 22 vs the Royals) it is a serious problem. His previous three starts were not much better, which can be seen by a grand total of four punch outs in 19 innings pitched. That equates to a hitter fanning once every 4.75 innings, not good by any baseball standard. Thankfully, Lopez struck out seven in six innings last night but he has struggled striking out hitters this month regardless.
Given the average baseball fan is familiar with statistical vernacular such as ERA, win-loss record, among other things MSV adds value in dissecting player numbers. However, by comparing these two pitchers in the traditional manner Giolito comes away on top, just due to his quality ERA of 2.38 in 45.1 IP (Lopez is at 4.72 in 47.2 IP). Looking a bit deeper, things don’t change a whole lot either, when Lopez fails to qualify for a Magnum Start in seven starts while Giolito records a pair.
Next: Can White Sox Contend for Wild Card in 2018?
So what does this all mean? Given it is only seven starts on the South Side for Giolito and eight for Lopez, the fact is Giolito’s ranking as an elite prospect does make sense. His ability to come up and succeed from the get-go is a valuable asset for a rebuilding team, mostly due to the fact it helps to have an idea of what you have in terms of production, not just ability.
Enjoy the offseason, Sox fans. Get ready for more assets to be added!