Lucas

Giolito

Giolito tossed a scoreless first inning, then gave up a run on a walk and a hit in the second. An error by Giolito with the bases loaded in the third would bring a second run in. He’d strand one more runner in a scoreless fourth, ending his day at 85 pitches with five walks and three strikeouts. Through five outings, the 31-year-old right-hander carries a 4.35 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, and a 14/18 K/BB ratio across 20 2/3 innings. He’ll take on the Cardinals in St. Louis on Monday.

It could have been worse! Giolito reined in his control issues a bit, and he actually managed whiffs on 14 of 33 swings, including seven of eight swings on his slider, while allowing just four hard-hit balls. He could not quite hit five-and-dive as he was pulled with nobody out in the fifth after allowing an Adolis García home run and Justin Crawford double. Yuki Matsui bravely bailed out the Crawford run from the earned column with an errant pickoff throw. This was broadly encouraging but we’re not quite ready to recommend him against the Reds next week.

You can’t be surprised about the control at this point -- Giolito has walked 12 in 12 2/3 innings over his first three starts in the big leagues this year. Considering the seven hard-hit balls, Giolito was lucky to escape this game with only four earned runs allowed. He did whiff 28 percent of batters that actually swung, but when you prove that wild, major leaguers can just wait for something juicy. We can’t recommend using him against the Phillies next week.

For those who like to watch pitchers struggle to throw strikes, that’s weird, but this one was for you. The two teams combined to walk 14 batters, and Giolito was responsible for six of those. The right-hander was still effective; limiting the A’s to just four singles and initiating three double plays. Giolito has not had great command in his first two outings, but he’s been effective for the most part. He’ll face his former club in the Nationals next weekend.

Giolito had just two batters reach on a hit and a HBP through five. The sixth, though, started with three straight walks, and all three runners came around to score after he departed a 7-0 game. Things might have turned out differently if the Padres had challenged the 3-1 pitch to Cole Emerson that started the rally. It would have been overturned and led to a full count offering. Before the sixth, Giolito was very successful despite averaging just 90.4 mph with his fastball in his 2026 debut. Prior to his elbow issue, he averaged 93.3 mph for the Red Sox last year. Until he picks up the velocity some, he shouldn’t be considered in mixed leagues. He’ll face the A’s next time out.

The 31-year-old righty will make his Padres’ debut on Sunday against the Mariners. Over four minor league rehab starts, Giolito posted a 4.76 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 15/6 K/BB ratio across 17 innings of work. He could wind up carving out some fantasy value in deeper mixed leagues. Alek Jacob was optioned to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.

The 31-year-old right-hander will take the rotation spot vacated by the injured Matt Waldron. Giolito has made four minor league rehab starts, registering a 4.76 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 15/6 K/BB ratio over 17 innings. Fantasy managers may want to take a wait-and-see approach before trying to get Giolito into lineups.

This isn’t a huge surprise since Giolito is required to be on an MLB roster by May 17th, which would be this Sunday, the final game of the series against the Mariners. The veteran right-hander was much better in his final rehab start, throwing six shutout innings for Double-A San Antonio while allowing three hits and striking out three. The 31-year-old was solid for the Red Sox last season, but lacks the strikeout upside he possessed in his early MLB seasons. He remains a deep-league option and one we’d probably pick up and keep on our bench for this weekend.

Giolito threw 78 pitches (50 strikes) in his latest rehab outing as he targets a mid-May season debut with the Padres. The 31-year-old is likely to make one additional rehab start this weekend before he’s back in the majors next week.

Fortunately, the 31-year-old right-hander noted after the game that it’s just bruised and that he was able to avoid any significant injury. His performance on the field showed a bit of rust, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks over his 2 2/3 frames. He did punch out four batter in the contest though and threw 40 of his 63 pitches for strikes. He’s going to need at least another couple of starts in the minor leagues before he’s an option to join the Padres’ rotation.