Washington has called up top prospect Lucas Giolito.
Due in part to another injury to Stephen Strasburg, the Washington Nationals have made the decision to promote their top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito.
The 6-6, 255-pound right-hander will make his MLB debut on Tuesday night.
Giolito was ranked by MLB.com (and numerous other outlets) as the #1 overall prospect in the minor league.
A 21-year-old, Giolito posted a 5-3 record with a 3.17 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 71 innings for the National’s AA club, the Harrisburg Senators.
Here’s a quick snippet from his mlb.com prospect card:
“The sky is the limit for Giolito, who has the stuff, physicality and command to develop into an ace. The Nats would like to see him make additional strides with his changeup and become more comfortable pitching with runners on base, but there’s little doubt that he’s nearly ready to make an impact at the highest level.”
Washington stole the big righty with their first round selection in the 2012 draft (#12 overall). Giolito was in the conversation for the #1 overall pick before he suffered an injury to his pitching elbow which required Tommy John surgery.
While there’s no timetable for how long he’ll be up in the majors, the consensus seems to be that it could be a permanent move if he pitches well.
