Chicago White Sox: Lucas Giolito should be the Opening Day starter
The Chicago White Sox are planning on having a good season. Lucas Giolito should be the guy to start them off on the mound.
The Chicago White Sox were hesitant to officially name Lucas Giolito as the Opening Day starter for 2020. It is a baseball honor to take the mound on that day for any club in the league. There are only 30 guys who get to be an Opening Day starter each year so it is easy to see why it is an honor. That means that your coaches see you as the ace of the staff.
It is clear that Lucas Giolito is that guy right now for the White Sox so he should be on the mound on Opening Day. He came in sixth place in Cy Young voting for his very good 2019. As good as he was in 2019, he was equally as bad in 2018 so it was a feel-good comeback story as well. Giolito definitely deserves the opportunity to have that role for the team this season.
The other thing to consider is that there isn’t a more clear option than Giolito. They signed Dallas Keuchel this offseason to come in and help stabilize the rotation. He has actually won a Cy Young in his career but it was in 2015. He is still a very good pitcher but as the new guy in a different role than he was in back then, it doesn’t make sense for it to be him.
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Giolito is going to be the ace of this staff as it looks to turn the corner. There is a chance that every pitcher is turned over on the staff from 2019 to 2020 besides Giolito, Dylan Cease, and Reynaldo Lopez. That, along with performance, is why Giolito should be on the mound come Opening Day. He is finally starting to get the credit he deserves for the way he played in 2019 and giving him the ball to start the season would further solidify that. It would also give him a chance to get going on his tour of proving that he could do it again.