The time many in baseball, though much more so in Washington D.C., had been waiting for has almost arrived. On Monday, it was announced the Washington Nationals would promote top prospect Lucas Giolito to the majors to make his major-league debut on Tuesday against the New York Mets. The news was first reported by Washington Nationals' reporter Mark Zuckerman.
Giolito entered the season rated as the No.1 prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com and No.3 overall prospect by Baseball Prospectus and Minor League Ball. The 21-year-old righty earns the promotion after 14 starts for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators this season where he posted a 3.17 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 72/34 K/BB ratio.
The young right-hander had been in Double-A since he was bumped up from High-A on July 28 last year, where he made eight starts. Giolito holds a 9.13 K/9 rate this season, though his 4.31 BB/9 has shown command has been an issue for him at times this year. His fastball and curveball are his two best pitches and MLB-ready, while the changeup is a work in progress.
A rotation spot opened up when Stephen Strasburg was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with an upper back strain. While it's unknown how long Giolito will be up, it's clear by Dusty Baker's comments to reporters that the organization believes Giolito is ready for the majors, so this could be a long-term move.