Chicago White Sox: Lucas Guilito broke out in 2019
Lucas Giolito, unfortunately, will see his 2019 season end as Scott Merkin of MLB.com reported on Monday that Giolito has a lat strain. The Chicago White Sox got a beautiful glimpse of the future from him this year, though.
While the Chicago White Sox would have loved to have seen Lucas Giolito finish the 2019 season healthy, the injury he sustained wasn’t very serious long-term and the fact is that he already proved more than enough to the team.
In 2019, Giolito went 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA, 3.44 FIP, and 1.064 WHIP on his way to the first All-Star appearance of his career. He also registered 11.6 K/9 as compared to 2.9 BB/9.
The 25-year-old also tossed three complete games, including two shutouts. Those two shutouts weren’t just against any team, though.
Both were road games against two elite teams in the American League, with those being the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins.
So, his ability to perform against stiff competition was more than proven over the course of the 2019 season.
Unfortunately, the right-hander’s season did not end on a high note in the slightest, as he gave up five runs in six innings against the abysmal Kansas City Royals.
That being said, the injury possibly could have been hindering him already, so that outing really should be taken as a grain of salt in comparison to his larger body of work this season.
Despite the fact that he will miss the final two weeks of the season, Giolito also recorded his highest innings total in a season, with 176 2/3 innings spread across 29 starts.
The team has a lot of work to do this offseason as they hope to vault from a rebuilding squad to one capable of competing for the AL Central in 2020.
Giolito’s success has certainly made their ability to compete for a playoff spot easier to envision, though, knowing that they have a top-of-the-line starter already in the organization.
dark. Next. Eloy Jimenez Wins Player of the Week
If the Chicago White Sox can add another starting pitcher or two, a rotation with Lucas Giolito anchoring it at the top could look extremely nice for years to come.