White Sox Lucas Giolito showing flashes: Waiver wire add?

Lucas Giolito is pitching the best of his young career right now for the White Sox. But, should the former top prospect be a waiver wire add down the stretch?

The White Sox are out of contention for the playoffs this season, yet they remain loaded with young talent. Lucas Giolito was once considered the crown jewel of their farm system but lost some of his shine in recent years because of his struggles during his limited time in the majors and minors in 2017.  Now that Giolito is throwing the ball great though, could he be a waiver wire add moving forward?

Lucas Giolito is one of the more profiled prospects in MLB. He has been ranked on top-prospect lists since before the 2013 season and was once even considered the best RHP prospect in the league. The Nationals paid handsomely for Adam Eaton this offseason, and the package was headlined by Giolito for that reason.

During his first big league stint with the Nationals in 2016, he posted a brutal 6.75 ERA over four starts while battling command woes. He started the 2017 season with Chicago and in AAA. Unlike his prior success in the minors, he was wildly mediocre, posting a 4.48 ERA over 24 starts. Nonetheless, he was promoted in late-August and made his debut versus the Twins.

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He struggled somewhat in his debut for Chicago, he went six innings, struck out four. and gave up four earned runs. But, the command was better, he walked no one. Things started to get interesting though after his last two starts.

The Tigers and Rays are by no means offensive juggernauts, yet Giolito was magnificent versus both. He blanked the Tigers over seven innings while striking out four, and he topped that with a 7 IP/1 ER/10 K outing versus Tampa. 

The command woes that plagued him during his first MLB stint seem to be gone, and the uptick in K speaks to his raw stuff playing well in the zone. For those fantasy owners in the home stretch with their eyes on the playoffs,  Giolito all of a sudden becomes one of the best waiver wire adds at this point.

His next start comes with a mouth-watering matchup against the lite-hitting Giants, and if all things go well, he will get the Royals there after. The Giants outing looks great for fantasy owners in the short-term, while the potential Royals outing would shape up well for the first week of the fantasy playoffs.

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Giolito looks to have turned a corner and looks poised to close the season strong. For fantasy owners and the White Sox alike, if he continues his hot stretch it will benefit all. Make him a must add off the waiver wire.