Lucas Giolito has a chance to do something special in 2022

The Chicago White Sox has a lot of great pitchers in the mix. The MLB squad has studs like Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech set to run the rotation. Outstanding pitchers like Aaron Bummer, Liam Hendriks, and Garrett Crochet will also be looking to lead the way for a very good bullpen. A lot of talent will be in that clubhouse ready to set the bar very high.

Lucas Giolito, in particular, has a chance to do something very special. He has been a top-11 finisher for the Cy Young Award in each of the last three seasons because he has been so good. He was off to a rough start in 2021 but he bounced back very well as the season went along.

He had a record of 11-9 with an ERA of 3.53 and a WHIP of 1.103 which are outstanding numbers. He had a very nice 201 strikeouts as well which means he was very hard to even make quality contact against. His WAR of 4.3 in 31 starts is remarkable. Every team in the MLB would want Giolito at or near the top of their rotation.

The reason he came in 11th for the Cy Young in 2021 instead of 6th or 7th like the two years prior respectively is because of that slow start. In 2022, expect him to bounce back well from that start and pitch more as he did from May-the end of the season of 2021.

Lucas Giolito has a chance to do something special for the White Sox in 2022.

If he does that, he has a chance to be right there in the Cy Young-winning conversation. Lance Lynn came in 3rd this year and Carlos Rodon came in 5th which meant that Giolito was the third-best pitcher on the team as a whole but that should probably rotate. Lynn will still be amazing for the White Sox but Rodon will likely be gone.

With that, Giolito still has a chance to be the ace of the staff. It will be interesting to see if he is still the Opening Day starter but that doesn’t really matter in the end. All that matters is if Giolito continues to be elite and helps the White Sox take that next step. Competing for a Cy Young, a division title, and eventually, a World Series is truly an option for Lucas Giolito.