PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Fans have said they haven’t seen a Pirates pitcher with the stuff like Jared Jones or Paul Skenes, but it actually happened not that long ago. It was a fifth round pick out of high school in 2011.
Tyler Glasnow was a skinny 6’8” right-handed pitcher who brought gas, maybe he didn’t throw it quite as hard as Skenes, but it was fast. In his first full season in the minors, he struck out 164 in 111.1 innings, but walked 61 and hit nine batters. In 2015 would reach AAA striking out 48 in 41 innings, but a 1.34 WHIP. Glasnow would make 20 starts in AAA in 2016, 133 strikeouts, 62 walks in 110.2 innings. The WHIP down to 1.15 and it was time for the MLB debut.
He would start the 2017 season in AAA and eventually called up for a couple of July spot starts with the Pirates. Five more opportunities in September and Glasnow finished with 23.1 innings, 24 strikeouts, 13 walks, three hit batters in MLB action both as a starter and reliever.
Now five years with him in the organization, the question became if the consistency could ever match the stuff? Glasnow would win a shot out of Spring Training in 2017. He would get until mid-June before they had to send him back down. The ERA was 7.45, in 54.1 innings he walked 29 and gave up seven home runs. He did strike out 44, but too many balls.
This time in AAA, he just dominated striking out 140 in just 93.1 innings with only 32 walks. The WHIP was 0.95 and the ERA was 1.93. He would come up again in September that year, in 7.2 innings, eight runs, 15 walks to only six strikeouts.
This immense talent and it just wasn’t working. They were talking to him about being more of a pitch to contact guy. He just looked like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do when he got on the mound.
He was still just 24-years-old, there was too much potential there to not give him yet another shot. This time they tried it as a reliever, maybe that’s how he becomes a big leaguer. He would pitch in 34 games and over 56 innings, 72 strikeouts, 34 walks, a 4.34 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.
The Tampa Bay Rays saw the talent as the Pirates saw an opportunity to find that veteran starter that would get them back in the playoffs. They were on a hot streak in July of 2018 and thought Chris Archer would be a difference-maker. So, they packaged Glasnow with prospects Austin Meadows and Shane Baz in what ended up being one of the worst trades in franchise history.
Glasnow would immediately move back to starting with Tampa, in 11 opportunities, he would only win one with a 4.20 ERA. Forearm issues would limit him in 2019, but when he was out there, he was spectacular. His head clear, Glasnow was 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP in 12 starts. He struck out 76 and walked only 14 in 60.2 innings. More injuries in 2020, but in 11 starts, 5-1 with 91 strikeouts in 57.1 innings with only 22 walks and a 1.13 WHIP. It was that postseason where Glasnow really started to be recognized, even though there were control issues again. In the Rays post-season run, Glasnow would start six games striking out 40, walking 17 in 28.2 innings.
Tommy John surgery after 14 starts and 123 strikeouts to 27 walks in 88 innings in 2021 which wiped out most of 2022 as well. Last year with Tampa, 10-7, 3.53 ERA, 120 innings, 162 strikeouts to 37 walks and a 1.08 WHIP, even with those numbers he missed time with an oblique injury.
Now it’s Tampa Bay that traded the 30-year-old to the Dodgers and then LA doubled down on its investment. A team yearly built to win a championship, Glasnow received a four-year, $115 million contract.
The investment is paying off, while he leads the majors with eight wild pitches, it’s ok. He doesn’t have to be perfect. Glasnow isn’t being over-coached and he also has a MLB leading 95 strikeouts. In 74 innings, a 3.04 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.91, third in all of MLB.
It’s a matter now if the right-hander stays healthy. He potentially still has several years on the mound.
The original Pirates hard-throwing ace, before Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, is a key piece of the organization that spent over a billion dollars this winter to win now. Tuesday, he returns to a ballpark where he had his initial taste followed by some of his worst professional memories. Let’s see what happens.