White Sox: Who Will Be The Next Ace on The South Side?

Giolito was once a highly-touted  prospect in baseball when he was in the Washington Nationals organization. After being a part of the trade that sent Adam Eaton to the Nationals, Giolito struggled in his first few months with Triple-A Charlotte.

Despite pitching a seven-inning no-hitter with the Knights, Giolito had trouble maintaining consistency on the mound to start the 2017 season. The 23-year-old pitcher didn’t post consecutive quality starts until June. By July, Giolito’s ERA was at 5.40 to start that month and it looked like he might not get promoted to the Sox until September.

However, Giolito would turn his 2017 campaign around as he recorded five quality starts in his final eight outings with Charlotte. Giolito would get promoted to the Sox in late August and made his South Side debut on Aug. 22. Although he gave up three home runs to the Twins in his Sox debut, Giolito would finish his first season with the team in impressive fashion.

Giolito finished 2017 with three consecutive quality starts and didn’t give more than three earned runs in any outing after Aug. 22. The 2012 first round draft pick showcased his dominance on the mound for the Sox with solid starts. Giolito didn’t miss many bats however, as he only had one start where he recorded double-digit strikeouts. He posted 10 strikeouts against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 3.

If Giolito is going to become the next Sox ace, he will have to do a better job of recording more strikeouts. Giolito finished his first season with the Sox with a 3-3 record, 2.38 ERA and 34 strikeouts in seven games. While in Triple-A, Giolito only had two outings with double-digit strikeouts. With his first full MLB season coming up in 2018, Giolito still has plenty of room to develop into a potential ace for the Sox.