By: Mike Carter
Two years ago Lucas Giolito was the worst starting pitcher in major league baseball: 10-13 with an ugly 6.13 ERA. Ninety walks and 166 hits in 173 innings for a 1.46 WHIP. One hundred and eighteen earned runs given up, leading the league, while surrendering 27 home runs. He took the ball each turn, but the results were rough.
Last year he achieved ace status with the White Sox. He went 14-9, with a 3.41 ERA with 228 strikeouts and cut the walks to 57 and the WHIP to 1.06. An outstanding year that led to some Cy Young votes. An amazing transformation.
On August 25, 2020 he crossed the gates into history by throwing a no-hitter against the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates.
I turned to no one in particular last night in the seventh inning and said, he’s got it. I’m usually the most skeptical guy, sitting on the end of my seat, waiting for a nondescript bench guy to get a single to break it up with two outs in the ninth inning. Call it a hunch but his focus, his give me the ball and I will throw it back mentality, his not batting an eyelash, is what I saw. Zero fear. Intimidation. In total control.
I saw vintage Justin Verlander last night. Ratcheting up the intensity as the innings went on. Amping up the four-seamer to 95-96 in the late innings. Here you go, hit this. Giolito went from the clear White Sox ace to a guy that will be mentioned in the same breath as deGrom, Cole and the like. He’s there now. He’s been trending this way and he crossed into elite status.
After the game, Giolito mentioned that he only shook catcher James McCann off once all night. They were in lock-step. His only blemish all night was a four pitch walk. That’s it.
The key to understanding the breakout comes down to the change in his mechanics and the improved pitch mix. Giolito features a four-seamer that he throws about 51% of the time. He’s throwing the change-up about 34% of the time. Giolito also has an excellent slider that he throws about 13% of the time. He’s throwing the change-up 8% more than last year, and the four-seamer down a few clicks from 55% in 2019. Hitters have a measly .177 average against the four-seamer this year, .200 against the change-up, and .133 off the slider. Giolito is getting more whiffs on the fastball while also getting more groundballs. The four-seamer has some backspin on it, and the change has some cut to it. Both look exactly the same coming out of his right hand. Interestingly, he’s throwing both offerings at lower velocity; the four-seamer clocks in on average at 93. 8 this year (94.2 in 2019) and the change-up is 80.7 this year (81.7 in 2019). The cut-type movement in the change-up seems to come from the fact that he is throwing it a hair slower, which results in less spin. Subtle adjustment but a big one in the course of pitching.
During the no-no he threw 47 four-seamers, 38 change-ups and 16 sliders. A complete game no-hitter with 13 punchouts and one walk. Near perfection. That change-up is becoming a monster pitch for him.
Giolito is able to get on top of the fastball better now, which means that his fingers are remaining on top of the ball and he’s getting a better angle to drive the ball further down into the zone. The arm action became shorter and more consistent. The hips work better and lead him through his motion more cleanly, and he has more extension at his release. The fluidity of it is beautiful to watch.
I do not know Lucas Giolito. I wish that I did, because he seems like an intelligent and kind guy. But I do know he is a deep thinker. I would argue that the biggest change in him is mental. I have heard pitchers say that thinking too much on the mound is sort of like having too many tabs open on you laptop. Things run slower, everything is less fluid, and nothing seems to work correctly. Those of us who watch lots of games can tell when the pitcher stats thinking too much. They slow down. They are shaking off the catcher often. They seem to be looking for someone or something to bail them out.
That was not Giolito on his special night. He wasn’t laboring, he wasn’t thinking. Just doing his thing better than anyone else, at least for one night. His mechanics are almost flawless and seem easy. Repeatable. Between innings he was analyzing quickly with McCann why he was “struggling” with the change-up in the seventh and eighth innings. He got the ball back, he threw it. As need dictated, he was throwing 95 MPH in the final inning. This was a guy exuding confidence, daring the Pirates to make contact. Thirteen of the 27 outs came on strikeouts. You could sense that he wasn’t thinking, just doing. And he knew he had the no-hitter going and that he was unhittable. He has worked his tail off to get here, and at the end of the game he was on top of the mountain.
It was pure joy for me not only as a Sox fan, but as a guy who has watched Giolito struggle and then saw him develop into the ace he is now. It’s an awesome thing to watch. In this world today, with Covid-19, restrictions, violence, polarizing politics, people are weary. We are looking for a spark, some small light in the darkness of insanity. We look for the guy who can rise up and inspire. That spark can inspires us to be better than we were yesterday, to unlock the greatness that resides in all of us that frequently goes untapped.
Baseball can give you this on a Tuesday night in the middle of summer, without warning, out of nowhere. It’s almost a miracle.
Baseball is the best game in the world. Two years ago Lucas Giolito was struggling to get anyone out. This night he came within one batter of a perfect game. You can go from the outhouse to the penthouse quickly, both in life and in baseball, and vice versa. This night you saw a young guy, a first-round draft pick, put it all together for one night and get one of the ultimate individual achievements in the game.
Tip your hat to #27. Well done, Lucas Giolito, and thanks for the example.
“I turned to no one in particular and said…” 😂😂😂