On MLB Pipeline on Tuesday afternoon, they began their rankings of the top ten prospects at each position. They will end with their top 100 prospects list next Friday night, which will be unveiled on MLB Network. Today was the top right-handed pitchers and it should be no surprise that Tyler Glasnow finished near the top, coming in second behind Lucas Giolito from the Nationals.
Jameson Taillon didn’t get ranked in the top ten or honorable mentions despite being the 11th best RHP in MLB Pipeline’s last update. That’s not a big surprise due to his missed time. Glasnow got praise for his ability to keep hitters from squaring up the ball due to the life/downhill action on his mid-90’s fastball. They see him eventually slotting behind Gerrit Cole as the Pirates’ #2 starter. Glasnow was rated #3 last year behind Giolito and Noah Sydergaard, who lost his prospect status.
We had a feature on Glasnow last week from mini-camp, where he discussed his off-season workout, the extra work he got in the Fall Instructional League and what he is doing to improve in the upcoming season. If all goes well, he will join the Pirates’ rotation in early June, but he needs to work on some command issues, improve his change-up and do a better job of holding runners. He showed improvements in all three categories last year, though the work with holding runners has been a slower process.
