What It Means:

Giolito allowed four runs in five innings of work Sunday in a loss to the Colorado Rockies, while displaying diminished fastball velocity. He owns a 5.63 ERA in 16 innings (four starts) this season in the big leagues, but it's likely that the Nationals bring him back once Syracuse's season ends. Despite a rough start in the majors, the 22 year-old is still one of baseball's top pitching prospects.

Giolito's 6.23 xFIP is worse than his ERA and he owns a minuscule 9.2 strikeout percentage (league average is 21.0 percent), but it's important to keep the sample size in mind. He's been much better in Triple-A this year, posting a 2.76 ERA and a 28.5 strikeout percentage in six starts (29 1/3 innings).