Washington Nationals: Takeaways From Lucas Giolito’s Debut

Giolito Gives Great First Impression

Although Giolito’s first big league start of his career didn’t last long, he still found a way to make that ideal first impression. He went four innings, gave up only one hit, walked two, and struck out one on 45 pitches (29 strikes) in a no-decision.

The one hit against Giolito came on the first batter he faced when Curtis Granderson hit a single into shallow left field. But, the 22-year-old responded when he struck out Asdrubal Cabrera on a 96 miles per hour fastball (3-2 pitch).

The key for Giolito’s success going forward is going to be his fastball command, which he had difficulty on times with last night. The two walks he had came on four pitches, but he got out of trouble quickly, including an inning-ending double play by James Loney in the fourth.

For me, the pitch that stood out from last night was his breaking ball. According to Brooks Baseball, he threw ten breaking balls with nine going for strikes. You could clearly see why people have raved about Giolito’s curveball since the Nats drafted him back in 2012. Plus, he had an average velocity on his fastball of about 94 miles per hour.

While it remains to be seen whether Giolito will get another start going forward, he definitely gave a good impression and he at least deserves another opportunity to go deeper into a game when Mother Nature doesn’t decide to intervene. Of course, that will depend on how long the disabled list stint for Stephen Strasburg is going to be.

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