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Pittsburgh Pirates 2013 Top Prospects: #8 – Tyler Glasnow

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The Pirates Prospects 2013 Prospect Guide is now on sale. The book features over 250 prospect reports, the 2013 top 50 prospects, and the most comprehensive coverage of the Pirates’ farm system that you can find.  While the top 50 prospects are exclusive to the book, we will be releasing the top 20 prospects over the next few weeks.  Be sure to purchase your copy of the book on the products page of the site.

To recap the countdown so far:

20. Jin-De Jhang, C

19. Andrew Oliver, LHP

18. Vic Black, RHP

17. Adrian Sampson, RHP

16. Wyatt Mathisen, C

15. Bryan Morris, RHP

14. Justin Wilson, LHP

13. Tony Sanchez, C

12. Dilson Herrera, 2B

11. Clay Holmes, RHP

10. Nick Kingham, RHP

9. Kyle McPherson, RHP

We continue the countdown with the number 8 prospect, Tyler Glasnow.

Tyler Glasnow
Tyler Glasnow

8. Tyler Glasnow, RHP

The Pirates have drafted a lot of tall, projectable pitchers who have the chance to add velocity. Some of those pitchers added velocity, but none to the extent that Glasnow saw. The right-hander is a very tall pitcher, shooting up eight inches after his freshman year, even growing in to a size 17 shoe. His velocity also increased during this time, going to the upper 80s, then the lower 90s, and topping out at 93. His velocity was never consistently in the 90s until this season.

In his first year as a pro, Glasnow was consistently sitting 90-94, and touching 96. He dominated the Gulf Coast League, then moved up to State College for a start at the end of the year where he was hitting 96 early in the outing.

Glasnow throws a four seam and a two seam fastball. His two-seam sits in the 91-92 MPH range, and has late tailing run away from right-handed batters. He locates the pitch well, throwing it to the outside corner against right-handers. He throws both inside and outside with his four seam fastball, and throws it on a steep downward plane, getting a lot of ground balls.

He throws a curveball which can be inconsistent, but has the potential to be a plus offering. The pitch sits in the upper 70s with good tilt and a late break, and can be used as a strikeout pitch. He needs to work on his changeup, which is not uncommon for a pitcher out of high school. Another thing Glasnow needs to work on is his control, as he dealt with some command issues in the GCL.

One pitching coach in Spring Training jokingly commented that Glasnow was eventually going to throw 200 MPH due to his size. The early velocity increase is great to see, and he might not be finished since he’s only 18 and still filling out his frame. He’s got two plus pitches with his fastball and curveball, along with a nice two-seam fastball and a developing changeup. The biggest issue will be his control. He could be a candidate to move up to West Virginia next year, but a lot of that will depend on how his changeup develops before the season.

The Pirates have gone heavy with over-slot prep pitchers in hopes of finding one or two guys who could develop into top of the rotation starters. Glasnow is so far off that he doesn’t really have a ceiling or an accurate projection. What he does have is a good frame and some dominating stuff, which is the starting point to eventually becoming a top of the rotation guy. He’ll be a guy to watch.

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Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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