The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Top Five Trade Pieces

Feb 26, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Tyler Glasnow (77) poses for photo day at Pirate City. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Note: before you come after me with pitchforks and torches, please know that the focus of this article is on the pieces in the organization that I believe carry the most value. This does not mean that I believe the Pirates should trade him, in fact I believe that my most valuable trade chip is closely approaching untouchable status.

Tyler Glasnow is one of the ‘big three’ pitching prospects often mentioned in the same breath as Taillon and Nick Kingham. By virtue of some amazing progress and also by being able to stay on the mound, Glasnow has now clearly leapfrogged both of those to set himself apart from the pack in terms of starting pitching prospects currently in the system. Shaking off an ankle injury that led him to a later start to his season, Glasnow has excelled for the Double-A Altoona Curve, and news just broke today that Glasnow will now get to ply his trade at Triple-A Indianapolis.

With games much like the 12-strikeout effort he displayed recently, his rise should not be a surprise.

MILB.com recently caught up with Curve pitching coach Justin Meccage, who had this to say about Glasnow’s progression with his changeup:

"“He was in the strike zone with all three pitches. Today was probably the best his changeup has been in two seasons. He threw 10 of them and eight out of 10 were really effective,” Curve pitching coach Justin Meccage, who also worked with Glasnow last season in the Florida State League. “He got some swings on them and he got a ground ball or two on them. And then just the ability to put people away was pretty good, too. So, overall, it was a really good outing.”"

Glasnow has always showed promise, but now is starting to solidify his control, as a 82:19 K-BB ratio would indicate. This has led to a microscopic .95 WHIP at Altoona in 2015.

All of this is fluff as we come to this main point: with A.J. Burnett retiring and the back end of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation still shaky at best, Glasnow has quickly reached untouchable status and as such would have to welcome a king’s ransom in return. While he remains the Pirates’ most valuable trade chip at this very moment, don’t expect him to even be whispered in any deals as we near the deadline.

So there you have it. One man’s list of the top five trade chips from the Pirates organization. Disagree with any of my rankings? Please let us know on twitter, our Facebook, or on the comments below. We would love to hear from you.

Next: The five BEST trades in Pirates history