Tyler Glasnow

Position: RHP
Born: 8/23/1993
Height: 6'8
Weight: 225
B/T: L/R
Acquired: Drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft (PIT).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: 7-2 with a 1.78 ERA in 17 starts at Indianapolis (Triple-A), striking out 113 while walking 52 and allowing 57 hits in 96 innings.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Recalled from Indianapolis July 7 when LHP Kyle Lobstein was sent down.
MLB Debut Date: 7/7/2016

Debut Details
July 7, in a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The starting pitcher, he took the loss, allowing four runs on three hits in 5.1 IP, walking two and striking out five while also throwing a wild pitch. Of 87 pitches, 55 were for strikes. Glasnow also went 1-for-2 at the plate, hitting a two-out single in the fifth. Glasnow walked the first batter he faced, Greg Garcia, before retiring the next nine, including strikeouts of Aledmys Diaz, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, before Diaz collected the first hit off of Glasnow to lead off the fourth inning, a triple to center field which came on an 0-2 count. Matt Holliday followed with a groundout to third base which held Diaz at third and Stephen Piscotty struck out swinging, but with Matt Adams at the plate, Glasnow threw that wild pitch which allowed Diaz to score to tie the game at 1-1 before Adams lined out to end the inning. In the fifth inning, Molina popped out to first base before Randal Grichuk hit a solo homer to left-center field. Glasnow escaped further damage that frame as Kolten Wong grounded out to second and Wainwright struck out. In the sixth, though, Garcia led things off with a double to center, moving to third on Diaz’s sacrifice bunt. When Holliday walked on four pitches (not intentional though — that came later), the Pirates brought in Arquimedes Caminero to relieve Glasnow, and the reliever gave up a three-run homer to Piscotty, a shot that had first been called to be off of the top of the wall but was overturned by an umpire and ruled a homer.

Player Notes
Ranked by no less an authority than Baseball America as the Pirates’ top prospect coming into 2016, Glasnow certainly did nothing to dispel that status in his Indianapolis showcase prior to his promotion. Boasting a career 2.01 ERA in five minor league seasons during which time he’d limited opposing hitters to a .172 average, he’d fanned 614 in 479.1 IP, walking just 230 while scattering 285 hits. In fact, he has never, in his five seasons, allowed an opposing batting average over .200. In 2015, he combined to go 7-5 with a 2.39 ERA in 22 starts among West Virginia (Class A), Altoona (Double-A) and Indianapolis, striking out 136 in 109 .1 IP and walking 43 while allowing 77 hits. He’d been stellar in his 2014 turn at Bradenton (High A), posting a 12-5 record and 1.74 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 157 in 124.1 IP and walking 57 while giving up just 74 hits, after making his full-season debut at West Virginia in 2013 with a 9-3 record and 2.18 ERA in 24 starts, striking out a career-high 164 in just 111.1 IP, scattering 54 hits and walking 61. Glasnow, who reportedly grew an entire foot in height during high school (which can traditionally throw off a young man’s coordination), missed a month in 2015 with a sprained ankle but still basically kicked butt with the other foot. He was sent down July 8 to make room for first baseman Josh Bell on the roster.

2080 Notes
Checking in at No. 10 overall in 2080 Baseball’s Preseason Top 125 Prospect Ranking List, we had this to say about him then: “Glasnow is arguably the most uncomfortable at-bat for any hitter in the minor leagues. His high-90s fastball comes to the plate on an extreme downhill plane with armside movement. It’s a borderline elite-level pitch. Along with his tight 11-to-5 shaped curveball and developing changeup, the profile gives him a chance to be a quality #2/3 starter.” You can also take a look at Chaz Fiorino’s pair of 2080 Prospect Spotlights on Glasnow here and here. and as well as Fiorino’s full scouting report.