Tyler Glasnow had his issues with control this month, but he had no issues preventing hits or runs. The Pirates’ top prospect had an 0.79 ERA in 34 innings, with just nine hits allowed. He also had a 36:26 K/BB ratio, with the walks being his main issue, and the big thing currently holding him back from the big leagues.
Glasnow started the month with five no-hit innings, while walking four batters on June 1st. He had two other similar appearances. On June 17th, he threw six no-hit innings, walking six and striking out six. In his next start, he threw seven no-hit innings, walking five and striking out eight. His worst start of the month came right after that one, and he only gave up two runs on four hits and four walks in six innings.
The control problems have been pretty serious, with 20 walks in 23.2 innings over his last four starts. It’s a good thing that he’s not giving up hits, but he hasn’t always looked good in those outings. His command was off and his secondary stuff looked back in that June 17th start. The next outing looked improved. However, the final outing of the month saw him struggling with command and secondary stuff again.
Until Glasnow learns to throw his secondary pitches on a consistent basis, he’s probably going to remain in Triple-A. His stuff is good enough that it can dominate Triple-A lineups, where there might be 2-3 MLB quality bats in the lineup each night. But until he can either throw his changeup, or throw his curveball for early strikes, he’s going to have major issues with his control, especially in a jump to the big leagues.
From a stats standpoint, Glasnow had some competition this month from fellow Indianapolis Indians starter Frank Duncan, who put up some pretty impressive numbers. Duncan put up a 1.76 ERA in 30.2 innings, with a 24:3 K/BB ratio. However, Glasnow’s dominant strikeout numbers and lack of hits gave him the edge.
PITCHERS OF THE MONTH BY LEVEL
Indianapolis – Tyler Glasnow, RHP (0.79 ERA, 36:26 K/BB, 34.0 IP)
Altoona – Tyler Eppler, RHP (2.65 ERA, 23:6 K/BB, 37.1 IP)
Bradenton – Yeudy Garcia, RHP (1.27 ERA, 32:10 K/BB, 28.1 IP)
West Virginia – Logan Sendelbach, RHP (3.30 ERA, 30:10 K/BB, 30.0 IP)
