CHICAGO (670 The Score) – Ahead of the 2022 season, White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito added about 30 pounds to his frame. What he thought would be helpful with the goal of increasing his velocity didn’t turn out to be productive, as he posted a 4.90 ERA, the second-worst mark of his career for a full season.
So this past offseason, Giolito got back to his old weight as he seeks to regain consistency on the mound. Early on, the jury is still out on his choice, as he’s 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in 15 innings across three starts this season. Giolito will get the ball again when the White Sox host the Phillies on Tuesday evening at Guaranteed Rate Field in the second game of a doubleheader.
"The extra weight was initially working for me last year, but it wasn't natural for my body,” Giolito told 670 The Score. “It was too big of a change for my body in a short time. I had a bit of a breakdown and an injury. I was just not feeling fluid in my pitching and not like my usual self. It was a tough year.
“The mindset this past offseason was to clean up the delivery and get back to my original, natural weight. If we could do this, I felt we could get back to being me. I wanted to get back to a weight I was comfortable with and weight where I could repeat my mechanics. Just being more athletic and be able to make more adjustments on the fly again was a goal. That’s what we did. I feel a lot better now."
Another area of focus for Giolito is mixing up his pitches more, as the league had caught up with this north/south pitching approach in which he threw a lot of fastballs up and changeups.
“I believe for any pitcher, it can become too cerebral,” he said. “There is a fine line between thinking and using your ability physically. In this league, you always want to make adjustments and you always try to get better. You see 19- and 20-year-olds coming up and doing their thing. As a younger veteran, you always want to make sure you adjust and are able to stay here. You must try and make improvements, but at the same time, if you get overly critical, you can put yourself in a bind. Balancing that line between the relaxed confident state from that panic mode moment is the key.
“My newer mantra would be location over stuff in my preparation. Every pitcher that is in the big leagues has great stuff. Location to me is the big separator. Doing your homework on batters and knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are against individuals, within lineups and being ready to go is my goal now. Hitters adjusted to my stuff up in the zone during recent times. I have had to counter with that – use more breaking stuff and always improving is the work I put in. Preparing and knowing you are on top of your stuff is my mindset now each game. I just tell myself to execute what I have been preparing for and I know I will have success.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
Listen live to 670 The Score via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker