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Tyler Glasnow is Baseball America’s Top Prospect in the FSL

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Baseball America has released their top 20 prospects in the Florida State League. The full list can be seen here, and scouting reports can be found in this article for subscribers. The Pittsburgh Pirates had two players on the list, including Tyler Glasnow, who was the top prospect in the league. Josh Bell was the other player on the list, finishing in the top 10.

Glasnow led the FSL in a lot of categories, mostly due to his upper 90s fastball. He worked a lot this year on his command, and on improving his changeup. His control numbers improved in the second half, and the changeup also saw improvements throughout the year, with Glasnow getting more comfortable with the pitch. He’s got the upside of an ace in the majors, but needs to work on the changeup more, and needs to continue improving his control. BA noted that he needs to throw the changeup and curveball more often for strikes to reach his upside.

Josh Bell was ranked eighth overall, and finally had a breakout season at the plate, leading the FSL in batting average (.335) and slugging (.502). There is no room for Bell in the Pittsburgh outfield, which means his future is likely at first base. He will make the move to first in the Arizona Fall League this off-season, and likely will play the position next year in the minors. Bell has a lot of potential with his bat, with BA saying he could hit 20-25 homers per year. He should return to Altoona to start the 2015 season, after struggling to hit for power at the level in his debut. A conservative projection has him reaching the majors in mid-2016, although if he has a breakout off-season like Gregory Polanco had last year, Bell could speed that timetable up to mid-2015, depending on the first base situation in Pittsburgh.

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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