Lucas Giolito 0-2 after first 2 starts with Angels

Lucas Giolito

Former White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito has had a rough introduction to his new team since being traded to the Los Angeles Angels last week.

The Angels are on a tough road trip, and Giolito's first two starts have come against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Atlanta Braves, two playoff contenders. He lost both games. Here are his pitching lines:

• July 28 at Toronto: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 Ks, 1 BB, 2 HRs allowed
• Aug. 2 at Atlanta: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 Ks, 3 BBs, 3 HRs, allowed

Ouch. Especially that game against the Braves. Giolito's given up 12 earned runs over his first nine innings pitched as a member of the Angels.

It's going to be a couple of years before we can judge that trade for the Sox, who received prospects Edgar Quero and Ky Bush from the Angels.

But for Los Angeles, both Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez are free agents at the end of the season, so they need immediate returns for this trade to work. Most of all, the Angels need to qualify for the postseason this year, before superstar Shohei Ohtani hits free agency.

I think it's going to be a tall order. As I sit here right now, the Angels are 56-53. They are in fourth place in the American League West, seven games behind the first-place Texas Rangers. The wild card is more doable. The Angels are 3.5 games back of the final wild card spot. The problem is they have four teams they need to pass.

In addition to Giolito and Lopez, the Angels acquired first baseman C.J. Cron and outfielder Randal Grichuk at the trade deadline. They will get All-Star center fielder Mike Trout back off the injured list at some point this month.

Still, I'm skeptical that they'll have enough. 

On the Sox end of the trade, Quero is the best prospect the Sox acquired at the deadline. The 20-year-old catcher is ranked No. 65 on MLB Pipeline's list of Top 100 prospects.

The Sox assigned the switch-hitter to Double-A Birmingham, where he has gone 4 for 21 with three RBIs in his first five games. The book on Quero is he has good plate discipline. He's walked 56 times this season, with 55 strikeouts. That's a good ratio. 

His power is down, however. In 2022, he hit 17 homers for Low-A Inland Empire. For whatever reason, the Angels allowed him to skip a level and promoted him to Double-A this season. He's young for the league, and this year, he's only got 3 home runs. 

It's too early to panic about that, however. Time is on Quero's side. He should be allowed to start next season at Double-A, and hopefully he'll earn a promotion to Triple-A Charlotte at some point. Perhaps we'll see him in Chicago sometime in 2025. If so, that would be terrific news.

Bush, a 23-year-old lefty, was good enough to pitch in the Futures Game in 2022, when he went 7-4 with a 3.93 in 21 starts with Double-A Rocket City. 

Injuries have limited him to nine starts this season. The Sox assigned him to Double-A Birmingham, and he got absolutely bombed in his first start there -- seven earned runs on 12 hits over 3.1 innings pitched.

Again, we won't make an assessment after one start, but I would pump the brakes on the idea that Bush will be a candidate for the 2024 Sox rotation. Maybe the second half of the year, if all goes well. It is good that the Sox added a lefty starter to their farm system. We know that's one area that's lacking. We'll see if they can develop Bush.