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Tyler Glasnow is the Pirates Prospects 2014 Minor League Pitcher of the Year

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For the second year in a row, Tyler Glasnow has been named the Pirates Prospects Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Glasnow won last year after dominating the South Atlantic League with a 2.18 ERA and a 164:61 K/BB ratio in 111.1 innings. His numbers didn’t see much of a drop in his move up to High-A this year, with a 1.74 ERA in 124.1 innings, along with a 157:57 K/BB ratio.

Glasnow saw a slight decline in his strikeout rate, going from 36.3% last year to 31.9%. The latter number is still amazing, ranking sixth among 676 qualified pitchers in the minor leagues this season. It was also the best mark in the Pirates’ system, excluding guys who didn’t have many innings. The only player who exceeded that amount, and had a decent amount of innings, was 2014 draft pick John Sever, who had a 37.7% strikeout rate in 40.2 innings in Bristol. Sever was named our Pitcher of the Year in Bristol.

The strikeouts were encouraging once again, but the best sign was the decline in walks. On the season, Glasnow only saw a slight drop, going from a 13.5% walk rate in 2013 to an 11.6% walk rate in 2014. Those numbers improved as the season went on, as seen in the table below.

Month K% BB%
April/May

27.2

16.2

June

29.3

14.1

July

33.1

7.4

August

37.2

8.8

By the end of the season, Glasnow was putting up amazing strikeout numbers, along with respectable walk numbers. To put the walk numbers in perspective, 7.7% is the league average in the majors this season, while 20.3% is the average strikeout rate. If Glasnow can just put up league average walk numbers to go with his amazing strikeout numbers, then he’ll continue putting up video game numbers with his overall results.

From a development standpoint, Glasnow made some big strides with the changeup, getting more comfortable with the pitch and developing it to where it was an average offering. The changeup, combined with his improved control, makes it more likely that he could eventually be a top of the rotation starter in the majors. He’s going to have to work on his composure in games, avoiding a big inning, or avoiding a big inning turning into multiple big innings. That’s something that will come with more challenging competition, as it is clear that Glasnow didn’t see much of a challenge the last two years in A-ball. Now that his control has improved, and his changeup has developed, he can focus on the in-game skills. That work should begin in the off-season, as Glasnow will be heading to the Arizona Fall League to pitch for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Tyler Glasnow is the Pirates Prospects Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row.
Tyler Glasnow is the Pirates Prospects Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row.

Below you will find our Minor League Pitchers of the Year for each level in the farm system, our previous overall award winners, and the 2014 monthly awards.

Previous Pirates Prospects Minor League Pitchers of the Year

2013 – Tyler Glasnow

2012 – Jeff Locke

2011 – Kyle McPherson

2014 Pirates Prospects Minor League Pitchers of the Year By Level

Indianapolis – Casey Sadler, RHP (3.03 ERA, 124.2 IP, 77:24 K/BB)

Altoona – Adrian Sampson, RHP (2.55 ERA, 148 IP, 99:30 K/BB)

Bradenton – Tyler Glasnow, RHP (1.74 ERA, 124.1 IP, 157:57 K/BB)

West Virginia – Buddy Borden, RHP (3.16 ERA, 128 IP, 122:48 K/BB)

Jamestown – Montana DuRapau, RHP (2.21 ERA, 61 IP, 57:8 K/BB)

Bristol – John Sever, LHP (1.33 ERA, 40.2 IP, 63:17 K/BB)

GCL Pirates – Mitch Keller, RHP (1.98 ERA, 27.1 IP, 29:13 K/BB)

2014 Pirates Prospects Pitcher of the Month Awards

April

Overall – Casey Sadler

Indianapolis – Casey Sadler

Altoona – Adrian Sampson

Bradenton – Pat Ludwig

West Virginia – Buddy Borden

May

Overall – Adrian Sampson

Indianapolis – Jake Brigham

Altoona – Adrian Sampson

Bradenton – Orlando Castro

West Virginia – Shane Carle

June

Overall – Nick Kingham

Indianapolis – Nick Kingham

Altoona – Joely Rodriguez

Bradenton – Tyler Glasnow

West Virginia – Yhonathan Barrios

July

Overall – Tyler Glasnow

Indianapolis – Rafael Perez

Altoona – Adrian Sampson

Bradenton – Tyler Glasnow

West Virginia – Buddy Borden

Jamestown – Frank Duncan

Bristol – John Sever

GCL Pirates – Dario Agrazal

August

Overall – Tyler Glasnow

Indianapolis – Rafael Perez

Altoona – Zack Dodson

Bradenton – Tyler Glasnow

West Virginia – Buddy Borden

Jamestown – Tyler Eppler

Bristol – John Sever

GCL Pirates – Mitch Keller

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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