Pittsburgh Pirates News: Infield Prospect to Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Australian born Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect Robbie Glendinning will have to undergo Tommy John surgery. This means he will not play in 2021 as he could be on the shelf for up to 12 months.

This offseason, Glendinning was playing winter ball in the Australian League for the Perth Heat. Due to his surgery, Glendinning’s odds of playing in the Australian League next winter appear low as well.

According to John Dreker, Glendinning suffered the injury while playing catch during a recent practice in Australia. Dreker added that Glendinning is expected to fly to the United States for surgery in the next few days. This winter he hit .343/.443/.507 for Perth. He appeared in 20 games where in 79 plate appearances he produced 21 RBIs, scored 20 runs and hit 3 home runs.

The 25-year-old Glendinning started playing baseball at the age of 8 in Australia. He eventually took his talents to the US Junior College level playing for Northern Iowa Area Community College. In 2015-16 he became Northern Iowa’s all-time leader in RBIs, hits, home runs, and runs scored. Those stats caught the attention of the University of Missouri, and Glendenning transferred to finish out his collegiate career. In 2017 for the Tigers he hit for a slash line of .274/.386/.463.

Glendinning was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Shortly thereafter he would start his journey in the Pirate minor league system with the short-season West Virginia Black Bears.

That season he would see action in 29 games, and in 119 plate appearances he slashed .198/.342/.229. He would go back home to Perth to play in the Australian League during the winter, and has every off season since. In 2018 Glendinning split time between Double-A Altoona and High-A Bradenton appearing in 101 games between the two. He hit .261/.346/.391 for Altoona, while slashing .340/.393/.599 with Bradenton.

Glendinning, along with fellow Perth player Luke Hughes who played for the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics, were both big inspirations for Australian League players who have aspirations of making it to the big leagues. Unfortunately, for now, Glendinning’s dream will have to wait as he starts his long journey back.