Pirates Prospect Spotlight: Tyler Glasnow

For the second straight year, the Pirates have a breakout prospect come out of West Virginia. Much like Gregory Polanco and Alen Hanson from last season, Tyler Glasnow’s eye-popping numbers have him climbing up prospect charts. The 6’7” fifth round pick out of California has a 2.69 ERA, a 1.123 WHIP, and averages 13.2 strikeouts over 9 innings. Oh and he doesn’t turn 20 until next month.

Today I got to see Glasnow’s dominance firsthand. The Power ventured close enough to my hometown that I had to take time off of work to go see the 19 year old. He didn’t disappoint. Here is my in-depth look at Glasnow’s performance against the Kannapolis Intimidators:

Inning 1:

Total Pitches: 18

Strikes/Balls: 11/9

2 K’s

1 HBP

0 Hits

Notes: Glasnow gets ahead in the count early and often, and keeps his fastball low in the zone. He then will elevate the fastball up towards the hitter’s hands for strikeouts. Fastball was sitting between 94-95 and touched 96. Glasnow’s toughest inning of the game.

Inning 2:

Total Pitches: 13

Strikes/Balls: 10/3

1 K

0 BB

1 Hit

Notes: Very weak hit that was likely an error on the third baseman if not for some hometown score keeping. Still keeping the ball low in the zone minimizing any sort of contact.

Inning 3:

Total Pitches: 9

Stikes/Balls: 7/2

0 K

0 BB

Hits: 2

Notes: Tim Anderson got the one and only extra base hit against Glasnow in the third. Tyler hung a slider and Anderson made him pay with a liner to right center field for a double. It was really the only ball that the Intimidators hit well all game. Glasnow responded quickly though with a one pitch pop-up to end the inning, also on a slider.

Inning 4:

Total Pitches: 8

Strikes/Balls: 7/1

2 Ks

0 BB

0 H

Notes: Glasnow appears to be getting stronger as the game goes on. He used only 8 pitches to get through the inning even though he struck out two. Much of this had to do with him establishing his curveball that I had heard so much about. He showed off his full arsenal on a 3-pitch punch-out against the second batter including a 94 MPH fastball, a 76 MPH curve, and a 79 MPH slider. None of which the batter came close to making contact with.

Inning 5:

Total Pitches: 11

Strikes/Balls: 8/3

1 K

0 BB

0 H

Notes: Glasnow faced the 4-5-6 hitters this inning and was absolutely filthy. He made quick order of the first two batters and then struck out the next batter on four pitches. The last pitch being a curveball so nasty that even Glasnow smiled about it.

Inning 6:

Total Pitches: 13

Strikes/Balls: 7/6

1 K

1 BB

0 H

Notes: Glasnow wasn’t quite as efficient as he had been during this inning. He got down 3-0 to the second batter before walking him on a full count. He quickly erased his mistake by getting a GIDP though. **Glasnow appears to be done for the night, even though he looks like he wants to go back out there.

Final Stat Line: 6 IP, 3H, 0R, 7K, 1 BB, 1 HBP

Total Pitches: 72

Strikes/Balls: 50/22

Pitching Break Down:

47 Fastballs

16 Sliders

8 Curves

1 Change-Up

Final Comments: Glasnow once again showed off his dominant stuff. He was constantly locating fastballs down in the zone, and only elevated it for strikeouts. He started to mix in his off-speed pitches the second time through the order and Kannapolis was simply overmatched. The Intimidators really only managed weak hits off of defensive swings as Glasnow was able to keep them guessing throughout the game. Tyler was also able to get ahead of batters often, as 15 of the 21 batters he faced started with a first pitch strike.

Glasnow appeared to be the real deal today. He has a smooth, easy delivery that he repeats well. The huge difference in velocity between fastball (96) and curveball (76) keeps hitters on their toes, and often has them guessing. He also flashed a quality slider that resulted in some quick groundouts. Glasnow didn’t need his change-up today as he only used one, but he still will need to develop it in order to reach his full potential as a potential staff ace.