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Tyler Glasnow Working on Mechanical Consistency

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INDIANAPOLIS — In his pregame preparation work the past couple of days, Tyler Glasnow has thrown both a side bullpen session and to a catcher on flat ground to try to solve his recent command issues. This was met with some mixed results in the command department, but the organization is looking to make things more simple for the right-hander’s control issues since joining Indianapolis.

“I am not trying to focus on mechanics, and [I’m] just throwing,” Glasnow said. “I think that I get a little too consumed by trying to make everything perfect. It is kind of my downfall. This is the sport where you can’t overthink and I am really good at that.”

On Tuesday night, Tyler Glasnow’s night was finished after 35 pitches, as he was a casualty of the Pirates organization’s single inning 30-pitch limit.

“Going out, I am not trying to think about it anymore and just focus on the next one,” Glasnow said of the outing.

However, it was not just the rule that ended Glasnow’s night, it was that severe lack of command that has plagued the top prospect since his promotion to Triple-A. While only retiring one hitter on Tuesday night, Glasnow walked five and allowed six runs.

“The other day, I think, this is a small stage, but it is a stage,” Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor said. “He went out there and tried to do too much. You have to feel for him in that situation and now we have to see if he can rebound.”

While Tuesday night was an alarm for folks who have not seen Glasnow in person over the past month, it has been a trend for him since his promotion to Indianapolis on the first day of August. Since the promotion, in seven starts, Glasnow has allowed 22 free passes. In his last 14 starts before making the jump to Indianapolis, he walked 21 batters.

However, the hits and the strikeout numbers are status quo. He has a .220 BAA, which is slightly higher than his .179 with Altoona, but still strong. His strikeout rate is at 27.4%, which is lower than Altoona once again (33.1%), but still good. The strikeouts and low hit numbers were the only reason that Glasnow’s ERA stayed deceivingly low at Triple-A.

Glasnow has pointed to not having his best stuff in Indianapolis, which he has said is due to the current point of the season. While this might be partially true, it is the walks that have created the issue for the right-hander. Treanor has been pleased with how he has worked out of trouble, however.

“He has struggled with his command since he first got here and his numbers were kind of skewed when you look to walks to innings,” Treanor said. “He did a really nice job of being able to pitch out of situations with a lot of runners on base.”

The trend even started in Altoona in his final two starts. In those outings, Glasnow walked six hitters in 12 innings of work before earning the promotion. These were his fifth and sixth starts since returning from an ankle injury that caused him to miss some time earlier in the campaign. While he still does wear a brace on the ankle, he has not pointed to it as an issue that has hindered him in the slightest.

As for any change in the mechanics, Treanor said that most of the changes are due to the search for consistency on the mound.

“We are just trying to get consistency out of him and I think the simpler, the better,” Treanor said of the delivery. “When he first got here, there were a lot of moving parts. I think that led to a lot of the inconsistency. If you are consistent in your delivery, you are able to be consistent throwing strikes. That is where he is at right now and I think that it is only natural that he is overthinking all of this. He just needs simplify things and go, letting his arm and his talent take over.”

Since the start of the 2013 season, Glasnow has started with high walk totals at each level. To start the 2013 season, Glasnow walked nine hitters in his first three games, with five and four in back-to-back outings. He started last season with ten walks in his first two starts and 15 in his first four. Even this season’s first game with Altoona, he walked four batters.

As Treanor said, the adversity has certainly been presented to the organization’s top pitching prospect. The key will be how he responds, and there are only 1-3 more starts remaining in the Triple-A season, depending on how far they get in the playoffs.

Ryan Palencer
Ryan Palencer
Ryan has been following Indianapolis baseball for most of his life, and the Pirates since they became the affiliate in 2005. He began writing for Pirates Prospects in 2013, in a stint that ran through 2016 (with no service time manipulation played in). Ryan rejoined the team in 2022, covering Indianapolis once again. He has covered the Pirates in four different big league stadiums. Ryan was also fortunate enough to cover the 2015 Futures Game in Cincinnati.

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