3 Chicago White Sox players who lived up to the hype during the previous rebuild

The Chicago White Sox started a big-time rebuild after their 2016 season came to an end with a whimper.

It turned out to be a massive failure after a promising start. Many of the players that they put a lot of faith in never reached their potential in Major League Baseball.

Despite it being mostly a group of busts, not every player was the worst thing that ever happened to the team.

There are a few guys that lived up to their potential during this era. These are the three players that everyone should remember fondly:

Lucas Giolito was great for the White Sox for most of his time in Chicago.

One player that was good for the White Sox, whether people want to admit it or not, was Lucas Giolito. He was acquired at the very early stages of the rebuild in the Adam Eaton trade and he lived up to his status as a top prospect.

Did he ever become that truly elite ace? He came close but a little bit short. He did come in 6th, 7th, and 11th in Cy Young voting in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

In a White Sox uniform, he had a record of 59-52 with a 4.20 ERA, 1.226 WHIP, and 993 strikeouts in 929.0 innings pitched. He was a borderline Cy Young candidate for a few years there and he missed a lot of bats as a result of his great stuff.

The White Sox pitching staff became pretty bad and the rebuild ended early as a result but Giolito was hardly the problem.

Now, he is with the Boston Red Sox but is out for the year following his Tommy John surgery. We can only hope that he one-day returns and pitches well.