ATLANTA -- Lucas Giolito’s resurgence has been a topic of discussion among the White Sox faithful. The talented right-hander has bounced back from a lackluster 2018 campaign with 14 wins and a sterling 3.20 ERA.

Giolito credits his success to a revamped delivery established in the offseason. He admitted that he lacked consistency on the mound in 2018.

“I was all over the place last year,” Giolito said. “I would fly open, and my arm would be late. The misses were really big, and I think I led the league in walks.”

So, in early January, he called his best friend and current Braves starter Max Fried for help. The former Harvard-Westlake High School teammates spent the offseason working out in Los Angeles.

The duo trained in local facilities and played catch in parks. Giolito worked to routinely fix several aspects of his delivery. He used plyo balls and a core velocity belt in his training to sync his lower half and get more balanced on the mound.

“I did towel drills, dry drills and gym work with wearing [the core velocity belt] sometimes," Giolito said. "It kind of gets your hips and legs in the position you want it to be.”

A newfound balance helped Giolito focus on his arm slot. He shortened his delivery to mirror that of an infielder.

“The biggest adjustment and one that everyone can see is the arm action,” Giolito said. “I used to be really long, and it was behind my back. Now it’s short and direct, kind of like an infielder.”

The results have equaled success. Fried was impressed with Giolito’s development so far this season.

“Revamping your whole entire delivery is not something that is easy,” Fried said. “It takes a lot of hard work and discipline. To see the hard work pay off, I couldn’t be happier.”

Fried also credits Giolito’s confidence with helping him be more consistent overall this season.

“I think a lot of it has to do with confidence and just going out there knowing he has a good chance to succeed,” Fried said. “When you have that confidence and belief in yourself, the possibilities are endless.”

This weekend’s series in Atlanta is the first time Giolito and Fried have played against each other professionally. After watching Fried’s masterful performance Friday night, Giolito hopes to put on a similar performance on Sunday afternoon.

“I was very impressed with his slider,” Giolito said. “The shape of his slider yesterday was really good. He pitched really well.”

Andersons make special trip
Bria and Tim Anderson and the White Sox took a selected group of students from Chicago-based Youth Guidance’s Becoming A Man (BAM) and Working on Womanhood (WOW) programs on a tour of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.

The group learned about the history of Atlanta and took in a Braves game. The event was rewarding to the kids as they gained valuable information and mentorship.

“Some of those kids have never really been out of Chicago,” Anderson said. “It was dope to bring them to Atlanta and let them go and check out the museum to learn about our history. I think that kind of stuff is important.”

Callups around the corner
“We will probably end up getting a couple of pitchers at least," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "In terms of other pieces, I don’t anticipate we will have a lot of callups. So, whoever we get, I’m sure it will be guys we try to incorporate to get them games and more experience.”