Tyler Glasnow Following in Footsteps of Gerrit Cole [Video]

Everyone realizes that Pittsburgh Pirates right hander Tyler Glasnow is really good at throwing baseballs.  You have read the most recent article on  at MLB.com, saw the minor league pitcher of the year award, read all the tweets, scanned Keith Law’s assessment and maybe even watched a few videos.  We like the latest one from MLB Prospect Portal we pasted below.

It’s an exciting time to be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.  A few years ago, Gerrit Cole pitched for the Mesa Solar Sox and had success against some of the current MLB stars like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. Roughly two years removed from making his first start for the Mesa Solar Sox, Cole was putting it to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game Two of the 2013 National League Division Series.

The Pirates Gerrit Cole’s new billboard

Are we getting ahead of ourselves?  Yeah, probably.  But it’s fun.

Glasnow has now made a few starts in the Arizona Fall League.  The right hander had little fanfare the day he was drafted, but Glasnow has developed into a top pitching prospect.

Cole just seemed born for it when he gave up catching and started pitching in his younger years.  Cole flew through the Pirates system and didn’t have dominant strikeout numbers.   Thus far, Glasnow has some insane numbers.

As with any prospect, Glasnow is far from a finished product.  The Pirates held him back as he dominated start after start this season.  Down the stretch, Glasnow wasn’t quite as sharp and we were always curious.  Was it the innings or was he simply bored striking out batter after batter?

We don’t know the answers to those specific questions and it’s difficult to challenge how the Bucs have approached their minor league system after seeing prospects pour into PNC Park since Andrew McCutchen‘s arrival.  The team has received a shot in the arm and the wins keep piling up, so we aren’t hear to judge.   Cole has been a strong top of the rotation starter and appears poised to become the number one that the Pirates envisioned on draft day.

Some things with Glasnow we have noticed before are some of the adjustments, including that powerful leg kick, that Glasnow has made during his minor league career.  The control is improving.  It still seems like he ignores the changeup.  But still, the strikeouts keep coming in large part thanks to his heater.   The curveball can be a wipeout pitch and can also wipe out Glasnow when he hangs it.

Sounds familar right?  Cole had those same challenges coming up through the system.

One time big league scout Bernie Pleskoff, noticed a few things and tweeted during Glasnow’s last start which was three innings of shutout baseball thanks to some defensive help.   The big right hander struckout three and walked one.

Glasnow has showed that he is still a work in progress.  In his second AFL start, he said ‘he didn’t feel great.’  Who knows what that means, he still got the job done which is the sign of a very special talent. In three starts in Arizona Fall League action, Glasnow has worked 6.2 innings, allowed six hits, one earned run, walked five and struck out seven.

It’s not the eye opening lines he put up in the lower minors, but it’s how he grinds that will set him on the path for a crucial 2015 season.  More importantly, having successful starts the rest of the way in the AFL could skyrocket his confidence.  It worked for Cole.

Glasnow is already one of the top pitching prospects in the game, if the lanky fireballer can settle in and ‘start feeling good’ the sky is the limit in 2015.

God speed Tyler Glasnow.   It sure would be nice to see you beating the Cardinals in roughly two years.

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Tyler Glasnow also isn’t big on hanging out with crazy guys that want autograrhs…I like that about him.