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Chicago White Sox: 5 things to hope for this season

By Todd Welter

Sep 3, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) delivers against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) delivers against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chicago White Sox, Lucas Giolito
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

The White Sox rotation can be really good if Lucas Giolito returns to being an ace.

Lucas Giolito was the worst pitcher in 2018. He made some adjustments and went on to be the White Sox rotation ace from 2019-2021. He tried to make another adjustment in 2022 as he bulked up. That decision proved costly.

Giolito’s ERA was never over 3.55 between 2019-2021. He had a 4.90 ERA last year. He also nearly matched his 2018 WHIP of 1.48 when he posted a 1.44 WHIP last season.

It was just a brutal season. Giolito went from a 4.1 fWAR player in 2021 to 1.8 fWAR in 2022. He also had a career-high batting average on balls in play (BABIP) with a .340 BABIP.

There was some speculation that Giolito was going to be traded in the offseason since he is set to be a free agent after the 2023 season.

Instead, Giolito is back and has made some adjustments to his mechanics. The hope is those adjustments will get Giolito back to being the ace we all saw from 2019-2021.

If Giolito can regain that three-year form, the Chicago White Sox can roll out four outstanding pitchers. Dylan Cease nearly won the Cy Young last season. Lance Lynn started 2022 off slow but finished strong. While Lynn is getting up in years, he still has the stuff to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.

Michael Kopech showed he can be a good starter but he needs to prove he can stay healthy. If he can avoid the injured list and adjust to the new pitch clock, he will give the Sox another strong arm in the rotation.

The problem with the White Sox rotation is it lacks a left-hander. Davis Martin is probably in line to be the fifth starter. He had some flashes last season in some spot starts.

The hope was to have him start the year in the bullpen but with Clevinger looking at a potential suspension, he might be called on for a bigger role. If he fails, Jimmy Lambert is also on the roster to fill out the rotation in the event Clevinger is suspended.

Getting Giolito back to being the All-Star pitcher we saw in 2019 would be a huge boost in the Sox playoff hopes for 2023.

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