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Lucas Giolito 2023 Player Outlook: Rebound Potential Is There
2 years agoChicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito will head into the 2023 season as a potential rebound candidate after struggling on the mound this past year. The veteran made 30 starts for the White Sox in 2022, logging 161.2 innings and pitching to a 4.90 ERA, a 4.06 FIP, 177 strikeouts, and 61 walks in the process. Overall, his strikeout numbers decreased, his walks increased and his ERA ballooned considerably. Still, there's some reason to believe a bounce-back season of sorts is in the cards. That's not to say Giolito is a lock to once again register an ERA south of 3.60, as he did in 2019, 2020, and 2021, but his 4.06 FIP this past year wasn't all that far off from his 2021 FIP of 3.79. And that's all without mentioning a BABIP that spiked nearly .070 points from .269 in 2021 to .340 last year. Some of Giolito's bounce-back potential could be tied to improved results from his slider. After generating a 38.3% whiff rate and a -9 run value in 2021, the pitch logged a 30.8% whiff rate and a +5 run value during the 2022 season. Given his recent FIP, and provided his slider can regain some of its past effectiveness, Giolito could be an interesting rotation for fantasy managers in the later rounds of drafts this spring.
