Lucas Giolito

1. Who is Lucas Giolito?

Lucas Giolito is a professional baseball pitcher who plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. He previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels. Giolito was considered one of the top prospects in baseball and was ranked as the No. 3 prospect by MLB.com in 2016.

Giolito was born and raised in Santa Monica, California. He attended Harvard-Westlake School, where he played baseball and basketball. Giolito committed to UCLA to play college baseball, but he opted to sign with the Nationals after they selected him in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft.

Giolito made his MLB debut in 2016. He was traded to the White Sox in 2017 and spent most of the 2018 season in the minor leagues. Giolito had a breakout season in 2019 when he was named an All-Star and finished sixth in American League (AL) Cy Young Award voting.

Early life and education

Giolito was born on July 14, 1994, in Santa Monica, California, to Michael and Lindsay Giolito. His father is of Italian descent and his mother is of English and Irish descent. Giolito has two older sisters, Gabriella and Sabrina. His father is a real estate developer and his mother is a homemaker.

Giolito attended Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood, California, where he played baseball and basketball. As a freshman, he was 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg). By his senior year, he had grown to 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 240 pounds (109 kg). In baseball, he pitched and played infield. As a senior, he had a 10–2 win–loss record, a 1.78 earned run average (ERA), and 130 strikeouts in ​85 2⁄3 innings pitched. He also batted .358 with four home runs and 25 runs batted in (RBIs).

Giolito was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 28 high school baseball prospect in 2012. He committed to play college baseball at

2. Early Life and Amateur Career

Lucas Giolito was born on July 14, 1994, in Santa Monica, California, to Chris and Yvonne Giolito. His father played minor league baseball and his mother was a softball player. Giolito attended Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood, where he played for the school’s baseball team. As a senior, he had a 10-1 win-loss record and a 1.06 earned run average (ERA) and was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Giolito was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He signed a contract with the Nationals, receiving a $2.925 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut that year with the Gulf Coast League Nationals. In 2013, he pitched for the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A South Atlantic League. Giolito missed the 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery. He returned to pitching in 2015, splitting the season between the Potomac Nationals of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League.

3. Professional Career

Lucas Giolito is a professional baseball pitcher who plays for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Washington Nationals. Giolito was considered one of the top prospects in baseball and was ranked as the number one prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America prior to the 2013 season. He made his MLB debut in 2016.

Giolito was born and raised in Santa Monica, California. He attended Harvard-Westlake School, where he played baseball and basketball. Giolito committed to play college baseball at UCLA but opted to sign with the Nationals after they selected him in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft.

Giolito made his professional debut with the Nationals’ organization in 2012. He spent the 2013 season with the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A South Atlantic League. Giolito missed the 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery. He returned to pitching in 2015, splitting the season between the Potomac Nationals of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League. Giolito began the 2016 season with Harrisburg before he was promoted to the major leagues.

Giolito made his major league debut on August 23, 2016, pitching five innings and allowing two runs in a start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched in five games for the Nationals in 2016, all starts. Giolito began the 2017 season in the Nationals’ starting rotation. He was optioned to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League on May 30, 2017. He was recalled by the Nationals on June 18, 2017. Giolito was traded to the White Sox on December 7, 2017, as part of a five-player trade.

Giolito pitched in 31 games (30 starts) for the White Sox in 2018, compiling a 10–13 record and a 4.28 ERA. He began the 2019 season in the White Sox’s starting rotation.

Giolito throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a changeup, and a curveball. His fastball averages 94 miles per hour (151 km/h) and has reached 98 miles per hour

4. Giolito’s Pitching Style

Lucas Giolito is a right-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. He was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut with the Nationals in 2016.

Giolito throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a changeup, and a slider. His four-seam fastball averages 95 miles per hour, and his two-seam fastball averages 94 miles per hour. His changeup is his best pitch, and it averages 86 miles per hour. His slider averages 82 miles per hour.

Giolito has a tall, lanky build, and he uses his height to his advantage on the mound. He has a long stride and a high release point, which makes it difficult for hitters to pick up his pitches.

Giolito’s pitching style is similar to that of other tall, lanky pitchers such as 6’10” Jon Lester and 6’11” Chris Sale. Like Lester and Sale, Giolito relies on his height to generate velocity and movement on his pitches. He also uses his height to his advantage by throwing from a higher release point, which makes it difficult for hitters to pick up his pitches.

Giolito’s four-seam fastball is his best pitch, and he uses it to get ahead in the count. He also uses his two-seam fastball to keep hitters off balance. His changeup is his best pitch, and he uses it to get hitters out. His slider is his third pitch, and he uses it to keep hitters off balance.

Giolito is a strikeout pitcher, and he relies on his four-seam fastball and changeup to get hitters out. He has a career strikeout rate of 26.0%.

5. Personal Life

Lucas Giolito is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Washington Nationals with the 16th overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2016.

Giolito was born in Santa Monica, California, to Rick and Kerry Giolito. His father played minor league baseball and his grandfather, Frank Giolito, Sr., played professional baseball. He has a younger brother, Mason. He grew up a Los Angeles Dodgers fan. Giolito attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, where he played for the school’s baseball team. As a senior in 2010, he had a 10–0 win–loss record, a 1.27 earned run average (ERA), and 116 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched.

Giolito committed to play college baseball for the UCLA Bruins. However, he chose to sign with the Nationals after they selected him in the 2012 MLB draft. He received a $2.925 million signing bonus.

Giolito made his professional debut that year with the GCL Nationals of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. He pitched in 2013 for the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A South Atlantic League and the Potomac Nationals of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League. In 2014, he pitched for the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League. He was added to the Nationals’ 40-man roster after the 2014 season.

Giolito pitched for the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League in 2015. He was called up to the majors for the first time on August 23, 2016. He made his debut that night, pitching two innings in relief against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was optioned back to Syracuse the next day.

Giolito was recalled to the majors on September 6, 2016, and made his first start against the Miami Marlins. He pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two, and was credited with the win as the Nationals won 9–3.

Giolito made the Nationals’ 2017 opening-day roster. He was optioned to Syracuse in April