BRADENTON, Fla. – The Pirates had Gerrit Cole, Tyler Glasnow, and Drew Hutchison pitching today, throwing out their top of the rotation starter and two guys competing for the final spot. Prior to the game, the three had an amusing encounter in the clubhouse that started with Glasnow approaching Cole.
“He just came up to me and said ‘I’m a little nervous,'” Cole said. “And I said ‘I’m a little nervous too.’ Then Hutch was like ‘Dude, I’m nervous.’ It was great. Anytime you can share a moment like that with your teammates is kind of cool.”
It’s hard to take much from a Spring Training outing, good or bad. Cole and Hutchison had good outings today, while Glasnow had a rough appearance, compared to his last time out against the Orioles. Here is a breakdown of each player:
Gerrit Cole
Cole made his official spring debut, pitching a sim game on Sunday, then getting into game action today. He looked good, working two scoreless innings and incorporating his secondary stuff. He was mostly using the curveball and changeup, and hasn’t mixed the slider in yet. The changeup has been a theme this spring, and Cole discussed how he’s focusing on the pitch more going forward.
“I think it’s coming along quite nicely,” Cole said. “I thought I located it where I needed it. I think I got Machado to roll over on it. That’s nice. He’s a pretty good hitter.”
Cole said that he was going to focus on using the pitch more last year, but never got to a point where he could throw it consistently due to his pre-season injury. He also said that he doesn’t have a good feel for it, which leads to less work on the pitch.
“It’s my least used secondary pitch,” Cole said. “I feel that the movement is a good complement to the slider.”
Clint Hurdle thought the results from that pitch and the rest of his stuff looked good.
“It was good, it was down,” Hurdle said. “But the fastball velocity was clean. The finish was good. He threw some breaking balls as well. It’s fun to see him out there healthy and strong. He pitched well.”
The Pirates need Cole to get back to the pitcher he was prior to the 2016 season. He was one of the top pitchers in the game from 2013-2015, but injuries derailed that in 2016, placing him on the disabled list three separate times.
“We know he’s an exceptional talent,” Hurdle said. “Sometimes we forget how well he pitched for us at certain times. I keep getting asked questions, and I think people forget how well he pitched for us when he’s been up a couple of times. The guy, when he’s been healthy and he’s been strong, he’s been really good.”
Tyler Glasnow
Cole was followed by Glasnow, who had a rough outing. He was originally scheduled for three innings or 50 pitches, but was removed during the second inning after reaching about 45 pitches total on the day. The high pitch count was due to early control problems, with only three of ten first pitch strikes.
“I think I came out in the first and got a little long,” Glasnow said of his control problems. “I think the tendency when you come back, especially in the spring, you go back to what you did in game mode. You stop thinking of things, and you get competitive. As the game went on though, especially before I got pulled, the last few guys I faced I felt I was right back on track. I felt really good. A couple of walks. I’m very pleased with where I am right now.”
Glasnow said that he knew what he felt on the mound, and knew what he was doing right and wrong. He was able to correct that, but it was too late for this outing. He only gave up one run, and Hurdle praised him for limiting the damage.
“He stayed aggressive,” Hurdle said. “He didn’t back off at all, which was good to see, and he kept away from a big inning, which was good to see.”
Cole had some nice praise for Glasnow’s abilities after the game.
“Tyler has just got a lot of potential,” Cole said. “He’s really a hard worker. He’s trying to put all the pieces together for us, because he wants to help the ball club out. He’s a good dude. I feel like we say that a lot around here, but that’s cool we’re able to do that.”
Drew Hutchison
Hutchison was almost the reverse of Glasnow. He struggled last time out against the Orioles, then pitched three shutout innings today, striking out four.
“He made pitches,” Hurdle said. “He threw strikes and he changed speeds today. It was a good outing for him.”
Hutchison was getting a lot of swings and misses on his off-speed stuff, and used the day to get some work on his changeup and get the feel for that pitch going.
“I tried to throw more changeups today, which can kind of be a little challenging,” Hutchison said. “You only have three innings, and for me, everything comes off my fastball, so you try to do that first. But you’re being cognizant of getting the changeup in also. I thought I did a better job with the rhythm the last two innings. I threw a lot of changeups, some good sliders, got a lot of swing and miss on the fastball too. Overall, it was a good day.”
That approach to focus on a specific pitch, rather than focusing on the best way to compete, can be difficult for a guy fighting for a roster spot. It worked out well today for Hutchison, but doesn’t always lead to results. Still, this process is something he is used to by now.
“It’s nothing new,” Hutchison said. “You just compete and take care of your business. I’ve been through this many times. I just go out there and control what I can control, and honestly just execute my pitches. I have a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities, so I just take care of myself and compete.”
John Jaso Plays the Outfield
John Jaso got a start in right field today, in an effort to expand his versatility for his upcoming role off the bench. It wasn’t exactly the best day for him to be thrown back out at a position he’s so rarely played. The wind was pretty high, leading to some difficult reads on fly balls. At one point, this led to Starling Marte running back on a fly ball, then stopping and running back in, only to make a diving catch near the spot he was originally standing.
“The elements were in full force today,” Jaso said. “It was pretty crazy, even watching Marte out there today.”
Jaso hadn’t worked on the outfield yet this spring, but has some experience in the past, and it wasn’t much of an adjustment for him getting back out there. A big adjustment was getting used to the slower pace of play, compared to his work in the infield.
“It’s a little more boring out there,” Jaso said. “It’s kind of cool being close to the action. I got first base, and catcher was never a boring position. You just keep your head in the game. This game is all about taking your focus and concentrating it little bits at a time. You just do the same thing in the outfield.”
Hurdle said that they’ll look to get him more chances once the World Baseball Classic begins, at which point the starting outfielders will be gone from the team. Jaso has also been taking grounders at third base in the backfields, and will get some work there in the future.
Other Notes
**Josh Bell is on track to start for the Pirates early next week in Grapefruit League action.
“We just put him through two hard days of work. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Hurdle said.
**Jason Rogers is dealing with some right ankle discomfort, with the injury coming before the game on Wednesday. He will be re-evaluated in a week.
**Jameson Taillon is getting two extra days of rest, although that was planned as part of his schedule. The Pirates will have some things that look like abnormalities early, but are just an attempt to align the schedule for the season and each player’s build-up. Taillon will start on Sunday, a week after he last started.
**Alen Hanson had a nice drag bunt single today, showing off his speed, which could be a key to him winning a bench spot.
“His speed is an asset,” Hurdle said. “There are a lot of fast guys in the minor leagues because they can’t utilize their speed. They can’t use their speed and make it work for them. Alen has worked hard. We continue to stay on him. We continue to believe in him. The opportunity is real. He needs to go out there and win a job and be aggressive. Today, put down a bunt, playing defense, moving around, swinging the bat aggressively, controlling the strike zone. Those kinds of things I think he’s capable of doing. We want to give him that opportunity to see if he can do that, because he could be a very valuable addition on the bench.”
**Clint Hurdle didn’t add much to Frank Coonelly’s statement on Jung Ho Kang, but said they look forward to getting him support on and off the field when he returns.
“This is the first step of the process. Another step involved is him acquiring a visa to get back over here. We can’t work with the young man until he’s over here. I don’t know when that’s going to happen. I don’t know how that process will work out. We’ll provide every bit of support we can for him when he gets here and help him be the best player he can be on the field, be the best guy he can be off the field. I don’t have anything other than what I said to add to Frank’s statement. Frank said it all.”
