Nationals: Lucas Giolito to start vs Rockies on Sunday

In three major league starts this season, 22-year-old Washington Nationals’ prospect Lucas Giolito has a 4.91 ERA, a 7.06 FIP, nine walks (7.36 BB/9) and five Ks (4.09 K/9) in 11 innings.

After his last start for the Nationals on July 24th against San Diego, Giolito returned to Triple-A Syracuse.

As expected, Nationals’ skipper Dusty Baker announced this afternoon, after today’s loss to the Rockies, that Giolito will return to the majors for the finale of the three-game set with Colorado in the nation’s capital.

“Tomorrow is going to be Giolito,” Baker told reporters this afternoon. “So I’m hoping that he throws up a gem against a very tough lineup.”

Giolito’s last outing with the Nationals’ top minor league affiliate was a brief, one-inning appearances which Baker explained was intentionally short so the 2012 1st Round pick would be available if he was needed in the major league rotation.

“You want him sharp enough to get some work, but you don’t want him over-worked in case you need him,” Baker said.

“We don’t think that we will need him right now, because of the way [A.J. Cole] pitched the other day, but that was just in case. You don’t know. Because we didn’t know what we were going to get the other day and you still really don’t know what you’re going to get come Saturday.”

Cole made his second start this afternoon, giving up three runs on four hits in the loss, but with Joe Ross off to begin a rehab assignment and Stephen Strasburg still on the DL, the Nationals are turning to Giolito again on Sunday afternoon.

In four appearances at Triple-A this month, the right-hander is (0-2) with a 2.55 ERA, three walks and 23 Ks in 17 ²⁄₃ IP, holding opposing hitters to a .246 BAA.