The Pittsburgh Pirates have called up their No. 1 prospect, right handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow, to start Thursday against St. Louis.
About a month ago, the Pirates called up their former No. 1 prospect (now No. 4 by Baseball America, falling after missing the entire 2014 and 2015 seasons) Jameson Taillon. Since then, two of their other, lesser known pitching prospects made their debuts in Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault, a clear indication of the onslaught of injuries the team has faced this season.
Now, another big name is getting the call for the Bucs, as their No. 1 prospect Tyler Glasnow is set to make his debut Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals, again due to health concerns in the Pittsburgh’s starting rotation.
Glasnow's callup spurred in part by iffy status of Niese's left knee. Niese is being examined today in Pgh, still scheduled to pitch Sunday
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) July 6, 2016
In addition to being the organizations top prospect, most feel he is one of the better prospects in all of baseball. Baseball America ranked him No. 14 overall, MLB.com has him 10th, and Keith Law placed him at No. 4 in his midseason update. All of this praise is well deserved.
Glasnow was a 5th rounder back in 2011, but has risen far above that pedigree ever since. In all of his four longest minor league stints — 2013 at A ball, 2014 at High-A, 2015 at Double-A and 2016 in Triple-A — he has had an ERA under 2.50, twice coming in under 2.00. He has also put up K/9 rates in the double digits at just about every stop, peaking at 13.26 back in 2013.
This year, he has made 17 starts, all for Triple-A Indianapolis, hurling 96 innings, allowing a 1.78 ERA and 2.94 FIP while striking out 113 and walking 52 — 10.59 K/9 and 4.88 BB/9 respectively.
As you can see, he can be absolutely dominant and generate more than his hair share of strikeouts, which is clearly very exciting and serves to show how electric he can be. But the walks are more frequent than one would like. He managed to bring them down to 2.71 per nine in 12 Double-A starts last year, but it’s been over 4.00 at every other level, for a total of 4.37 BB/9 throughout his minor league career.
That said, it’s clear many scouts and experts feel he will be able to overcome those walks in some fashion, either by learning to limit them, or by being so dominant in other ways that they don’t matter quite as much. The talent and raw ability is clearly there; he’s 6’8″, sits in the mid-90’s with his fastball, and has what seems to be a devastating curveball. If he can improve his control, he is on his way to being a true ace.
Next: Nationals Call Up No. 1 prospect Lucas Giolito
Glasnow will make his debut Thursday afternoon against Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals in St. Louis.