| Lucas Giolito | |
|---|---|
_(Cropped).jpg) Giolito with theChicago White Sox in 2019 | |
| Free agent | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1994-07-14)July 14, 1994 (age 31) Burbank, California, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 28, 2016, for the Washington Nationals | |
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 71–66 |
| Earned run average | 4.30 |
| Strikeouts | 1,198 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Lucas Frost Giolito (born July 14, 1994) is an American professionalbaseballpitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theWashington Nationals,Chicago White Sox,Los Angeles Angels,Cleveland Guardians, andBoston Red Sox.
Giolito attendedHarvard-Westlake School inStudio City, California, and was selected by the Nationals in the first round in the2012 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Nationals in 2016. Hisfastball has been clocked as high as 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).[1][2]
In 2019, as a member of the White Sox, he was named to theMLB All-Star Game. On August 25, 2020, he threw ano-hitter in a 4–0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Giolito was born atProvidence Saint Joseph Medical Center inBurbank, California, on July 14, 1994. He grew up inSanta Monica, California. Giolito began playingtee-ball at the age of 5, and he playedLittle League Baseball at Santa Monica Little League. He threw his very first 90-mile-per-hour (140 km/h) pitch at the age of 14.[citation needed]
Giolito attendedHarvard-Westlake School inStudio City, Los Angeles,California. He was part of a Harvard-Westlake baseball team that includedMax Fried andJack Flaherty, withEthan Katz as their pitching coach.[3][4] In March 2012, his senior year, Giolito sprained theulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, sidelining him for the rest of his high school season.[5][6] Giolito had committed to attend theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and play for theUCLA Bruins baseball team.[7][8]Although some thought he was good enough to be selected with the first overall choice of the2012 MLB draft,[9][10][11][12][13] concerns about his elbow caused him to fall to the 16th overall selection, where he was picked by theWashington Nationals.[14]
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Giolito signed with the Nationals on July 13, 2012—thirty seconds before the deadline—to a minor league contract with a $2.925 millionsigning bonus.[15] By the end of the month, the team had scheduledTommy John surgery to repair his injured elbow ligament.[16]
By the following summer, he made eight starts for theGulf Coast Nationals of therookie-levelGulf Coast League in 2013 and posted a 2.78earned run average (ERA). He was promoted to theAuburn Doubledays of theClass A-Short SeasonNew York–Penn League, and allowed one earned run in the 16 innings he pitched.[13] In 2014, Giolito played his first full season of professional baseball with theHagerstown Suns of theClass ASouth Atlantic League. He went 10–2 with a 2.20 ERA and 110 strikeouts compared to 28 walks over 20 starts. He was selected as the 2014South Atlantic League Most Valuable Pitcher and Top Minor League Prospect. He also appeared in theAll-Star Futures Game.[17]
Giolito began the 2015 season with thePotomac Nationals of theClass A-AdvancedCarolina League, and received a midseason promotion to theHarrisburg Senators of theClass AAEastern League.[18] The Nationals assigned Giolito to Harrisburg to start the 2016 season.[19] He received a promotion to theSyracuse Chiefs of theClass AAAInternational League in July.[20]
On June 28, 2016, the Nationals added Giolito to their active roster and he made his major league debut that night against theNew York Mets. In his debut, he pitched four shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks, while getting one strikeout.[21]
On December 7, 2016, the Nationals traded Giolito,Reynaldo López, andDane Dunning to theChicago White Sox forAdam Eaton.[22] Entering the 2017 season, Giolito was considered the 12th best prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com. Giolito began the 2017 season with theCharlotte Knights of the International League.[23] On August 27, 2017, Giolito earned his first MLB victory in a 7–1 White Sox win over theDetroit Tigers. Giolito threw seven scoreless innings yielding only three hits and striking out four Tigers. Giolito finished the season going 3–3 with a 2.38 ERA in 7 starts.
The following season, in 2018, he was part of the starting rotation, making 32 starts for the White Sox, going 10–13 with a 6.13 ERA. In173+1⁄3 innings, he struck out 125 but led the American League in walks (90) and earned runs (118), and was 3rd in the league inhit by pitch (15), 4th inwild pitches (13), and 9th in home runs allowed (27).[24] In 2018 he had the highest rate ofbases on balls per 9 innings pitched in the majors (4.67), and had the highestWHIP among major league pitchers (1.48).[25][26] He also had the worstleft on base percentage of all qualifying major league pitchers, stranding only 63.5% of base runners.[27]
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In 2019, Giolito's third season and second in the White Sox starting rotation, he greatly improved from the previous year as he went on a nine-game winning streak after starting the year with a 10–1 record. He pitched his first career shutout on May 23 against theHouston Astros. He was also rewarded AL pitcher of the month for the month of May.[28] On June 30, 2019, Giolito was named as one of the American League pitchers for the2019 MLB All-Star Game, his first All-Star selection. He pitched one scoreless inning in a 4–3 victory for the American League.[29] On September 16, 2019, the White Sox shut down Giolito for the rest of the season due to a mild lat strain in his pitching arm.[30] Giolito finished the season with a 14–9 record, a 3.41 ERA, 228 strikeouts and three complete games over176+2⁄3 innings in 29 starts. He also finished 6th in the AL Cy Young Award voting.
On August 25, 2020, Giolitono-hit thePittsburgh Pirates 4–0 atGuaranteed Rate Field. He struck out 13 batters and threw 74 of 101 pitches for strikes; a fourth-inning walk toErik González was the only blemish in an otherwiseperfect game. The no-hitter was the 19th in White Sox history, the most recent having beenPhilip Humber's perfect game on April 21, 2012, and the most recent by a White Sox pitcher at Guaranteed Rate Field having beenMark Buehrle's perfect game on July 23, 2009.[31] That season, Giolito went 4–3 in 12 starts with an ERA of 3.48, and struck out 97 in72+1⁄3 innings as the White Sox made the playoffs that season. Giolito made his postseason debut against theOakland Athletics in game 1 of theWild Card Series. He pitched 7 innings giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, and struck out 8. He even retired the first 18 batters he faced in that game. He picked up the win as the White Sox beat the Athletics with a final score of 4–1 but the White Sox went on to lose the Series to the Athletics.
In 2021, Giolito made 31 starts with a record of 11–9 and an ERA of 3.53. He pitched in 178.2 innings and struck out 201 batters. He had the lowest ground ball percentage of all major league pitchers, at 33.2%.[32] In 2022, Giolito had an 11–9 record in 30 starts pitching to an ERA of 4.90 in 161.2 innings giving up 171 hits and 92 runs while he struck out 177 batters.
On January 13, 2023, Giolito signed a one-year, $10.4 million contract with the White Sox, avoiding salary arbitration.[33]
On July 26, 2023, Giolito andReynaldo López were traded to theLos Angeles Angels in exchange for minor league playersKy Bush andEdgar Quero.[34] He made his Angels debut on July 28 against theToronto Blue Jays. In 5⅓ innings, he allowed three earned runs and struck out five.[35] Giolito was placed on waivers by the Angels on August 29, after posting a 6.89 ERA in 6 starts.[36]
On August 31, 2023, Giolito was claimed off waivers by theCleveland Guardians.[37] He made his first start for the Guardians on September 4, and became the first pitcher to surrender eight earned runs in a game for three different MLB teams in the same season sinceBill Magee in 1899.[38] He became a free agent following the season.
On January 3, 2024, Giolito signed a one-year contract with theBoston Red Sox, with a player option after the first season.[39] In early March, Red Sox managerAlex Cora stated that Giolito would miss the start of the season due to discomfort in his right elbow.[40] It was later announced that Giolito would have surgery and was expected to miss the entire season.[41] An internal brace procedure was performed on March 12, involving repair to hisulnar collateral ligament.[42] Giolito did not play in 2024 and exercised his $19 million option for 2025.
Giolito made 26 starts for the Red Sox in 2025, with a 10–4 record and a 3.41 ERA. He declined his option after the season and became a free agent.[43]
Giolito is the son of actressLindsay Frost and actorRick Giolito. His maternal grandfather,Warren Frost, was an actor, while his paternal grandfather,Silvio Giolito, was a two time Olympicfencer and multiple time US National Champion. Lucas’ brother Casey is an actor, while his uncle,Mark Frost, is a novelist, television screenwriter, and producer best known as the co-creator ofTwin Peaks withDavid Lynch. Another uncle,Scott Frost, is a writer.[44]
In December 2018, Giolito married his high school sweetheart, Ariana Dubelko-Giolito. On July 11, 2023, Giolito announced that the couple had filed for divorce.[45]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher August 25, 2020 | Succeeded by |
