Rick Hahn Hints That Lucas Giolito Will Be Next White Sox Prospect Promoted
(CBS) White Sox general manager Rick Hahn isn't willing to publicly reveal timeline specifics for the organization's top prospects to reach the big leagues, but he did hint Thursday as to who could receive the next high-profile promotion after 23-year-old Reynaldo Lopez makes his team debut Friday.
It's not much of a surprise, either: right-hander Lucas Giolito.
In 116 innings at Triple-A Charlotte this season, the 23-year-old Giolito has a 4.73 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. While those aren't gaudy numbers, Hahn believes he's about ready for the big leagues again. Giolito debuted with the Nationals in 2016, when he had a 6.75 in 21 1/3 innings.
"We've had general conversations about an extra catcher, a few arms for the bullpen, perhaps bringing up another outfielder here depending on the health of Willy Garcia," Hahn said in an interview with Danny Parkins on 670 The Score on Thursday when asked about September call-ups. "But we haven't gotten to the point of saying, 'This player is coming up' and certainly wouldn't want to -- even if we had -- I wouldn't want to announce it prior to us informing the player. I think we've made no secret about the fact that Lucas Giolito has answered a lot of the questions that we've had for him at the minor league level, that perhaps Lopez was ahead of him, which is why Lopez is getting the first taste here, but that Lucas probably isn't that far behind behind Reynaldo in terms of getting his opportunity here in Chicago this season."
Listen to Hahn's full interview below.