At this time last year, it seemed like Tyler Glasnow was unlikely to be named our Pitcher of the Month again. He was up in the majors at the time and we figured there was a good chance that he could be up in Pittsburgh for good. Glasnow has previously been named our Pitcher of the Month in June of last year, as well as both July and August in 2014. In fact, those back-to-back months represented the only time that has happened since we started this in 2013. That was until last month when Steven Brault was named for the second consecutive month. Somewhat ironically, it was Brault who spent part of July with the Pirates, which opened the door for Tyler Glasnow to be named as our Pitcher of the Month in July.
Glasnow made six starts during July for Indianapolis. He began the month with a 5.2 inning outing against Louisville on July 1st, in which he gave up two runs and struck out 11 batters. That start represented two things. It was his third straight start with at least 11 strikeouts and it was his last start in which he allowed more than one run.
Five days after his first July start, Glasnow gave up one run over 5.2 innings on the road. He returned home to face Louisville again and this time he shut them out for seven innings. He struck out six batters in this game, which is his lowest total in nine Triple-A starts, but he also didn’t walk a batter for the first time.
Back on the road again on July 20th, Glasnow picked up 11 strikeouts again, this time allowing one run over six innings. He gave up one run over seven innings five days later, then capped off his month with a 12 strikeout performance, giving up one run on three hits and one walk in 6.1 innings. Glasnow’s 54 strikeouts in July set a new monthly mark for Indianapolis, and he had 20 more strikeouts than the next highest total for the Pirates over the past month.
We have seen Glasnow dominate in the minors, basically his entire pro career. We haven’t seen him look this good doing it though. As I pointed out in a recent Morning Report article, Glasnow is a much better looking pitcher now than he was in Indianapolis last year or Pittsburgh this season. It all started with his mentality on the mound. He is a much more confident pitcher, who has been in an attack mode since he was sent down. He is throwing harder than ever before and he is throwing more strikes than before. Glasnow is working out of the stretch all of the time and it seems to have helped his control, though his strong mentality can’t be overlooked as a key factor in his success.
In the past, he was getting help from impatient Triple-A hitters who would expand their zone and chases pitches in the dirt. Glasnow is now getting the same results against those hitter by throwing strikes by them, using all three of his pitches effectively. What he was doing before wasn’t the type of pitching that would translate to the majors, where better hitters wouldn’t chase as much, forcing him to throw more hittable strike. We saw that this season as his velocity dropped, attempting to sacrifice speed for control, and the results got worse. If the Glasnow we are seeing in Indianapolis now is the one who shows up whenever he returns to the majors, then you will see improved results. It all starts with confidence on the mound and believing in his pitches.
PITCHERS OF THE MONTH BY LEVEL
Indianapolis – Tyler Glasnow, RHP (1.43 ERA, 54:14 K/BB, 37.2 IP)
Altoona – Tanner Anderson, RHP (2.43 ERA, 34:8 K/BB, 37.0 IP)
Bradenton – Bret Helton, RHP (1.08 ERA, 17:5 K/BB, 25.0 IP)
West Virginia – Luis Escobar, RHP (1.32 ERA, 28:12 K/BB, 27.1 IP)
Morgantown – Ike Schlabach, LHP (2.20 ERA, 20:10 K/BB, 32.2 IP)
Bristol – Hunter Stratton, RHP (1.08 ERA, 27:15 K/BB, 25.0 IP)
GCL Pirates – Yeudry Manzanillo, RHP (2.00 ERA, 17.5 K/BB, 18.0 IP)
