Tyler Glasnow had another impressive start for Bradenton last night. After every impressive Glasnow start, I get asked when he will be promoted. I’ve given my thoughts on this subject several times, with the answer being that I don’t think Glasnow will be promoted at this point.
About a month ago it might have made sense to get him up to Altoona for a few starts at the end of the year. Now? Bradenton has been playing well, has a good shot of making the playoffs, and that would give Glasnow the opportunity to play in meaningful games, all while possibly getting some extra work this year in the post-season.
Glasnow is not going to be in the majors next year. No matter when he would have been called up to Altoona this year — whether that’s yesterday, today, a few weeks ago, a week from now — he’s going to spend the majority of next season in Double-A. The Pirates usually keep their pitching prospects at the Double-A level for about a full season, or about 150 innings. Gerrit Cole has been the only exception to this trend. The trend continued today when Adrian Sampson was promoted to Indianapolis, after 148 innings in Altoona this year.
The path for Glasnow will include Altoona next year, with a shot to make it up to Indianapolis by the end of the season, just like Sampson is doing this year. That would put him in line for half a season in Triple-A in 2016, followed by a call to the majors after Super Two passes after he irons out the flaws in his game. That’s going to be the path no matter when they promote him to Altoona.
It could still be possible that the Pirates decide to send him up to Altoona this year, but I’d be surprised if that happened at this point. If they were going to send him up, it would have happened by now. And based on how there’s nothing to play for in Altoona, relevant games in Bradenton, and no real added benefit to sending him up to Altoona for a few starts, I don’t think keeping him in Bradenton is a bad thing. Then again, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to see a video game pitcher in real life, putting up numbers that you’d never actually see in real life. The only thing that might hurt Glasnow at this point is if other FSL teams force him to up the difficulty level to “Expert.”
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Speaking of getting a late-season look, every year we add new features to the site in the final month of the season, or change current features, giving them a trial run in preparation for next year. Every day of the year we publish the daily minor league schedule, along with Prospect Highlights on most days. Then there are smaller features which don’t even get an article at all, or get saved for Twitter.
We decided to combine all of these into one article each morning, while trimming the fat and giving you the important information. The goal is to have a daily article that highlights a player or topic in the system, gives a snapshot of how the Pirates did and the current playoff races, previews the upcoming schedule, features video, recaps transactions, and more. The article is meant to be a quick read every morning, and hopefully will have something for everyone.
When I started doing a nightly column, I had no clue what to name it. So I opened up the floor, and through your suggestions we ended up with First Pitch. It’s not the most original name, since about 9,472 articles or features in baseball have that name. But it fits perfectly for an article that is starting off the day at midnight (or 1-2 AM, depending on how easy it is to come up with an article topic each night).
So I’m opening the floor for discussion. Leave your suggestions in the comments below with a name for this daily feature. The current name to beat: “Morning El Coffee”, which was suggested by John Dreker (who will be doing a lot of these articles, along with adding a “This Date in Pirates History” section). Also, if you have any recommendations for features to add to the daily articles, leave that in the comments as well.
Pirates Game Graph
Source: FanGraphs
Playoff Push
Pittsburgh: The Pirates moved to 1.5 games up over St. Louis in the first Wild Card spot. They are currently 1.5 games back from the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central
Indianapolis: The Indians are 4 games back in the International League West, and 7 games back in the Wild Card.
Bradenton: The Marauders are in first place in the Florida State League South, leading by 1 game. They need to win the second half division to make the playoffs.
Today’s Schedule
Minor League Starter of the Day: There are some interesting starters going in the lower levels of the system today. Jason Creasy just doesn’t allow walks. Cody Dickson has had a strong second half, as I pointed out yesterday. Frank Duncan and Montana DuRapau are 2014 draft picks who have put up surprising numbers. Trey Supak shows a lot of promise after signing for $1 M out of high school this year. But the biggest start of the day could come at Indianapolis, with Adrian Sampson expected to make his Triple-A debut. Ryan Palencer reported yesterday that Sampson was getting the call to Indianapolis. This would be normal rest for the right-hander. Sampson has been the breakout pitcher of the year, and seeing what he can do over a few starts in Indianapolis will be a nice finish to his season. As of this writing, Sampson hasn’t officially been added to the roster yet, and the Indianapolis starter is listed as TBD.
MLB: Pittsburgh (64-55) @ Detroit (63-54) 7:08 PM
Probable starter: Vance Worley (2.30 ERA, 39:10 K/BB, 62.2 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (62-62) @ Toledo (60-64) 7:00 PM
Probable starter: TBD
AA: Altoona (53-70) vs Trenton (59-64) 7:00 PM
Probable starter: Jhonathan Ramos (4.26 ERA, 27:15 K/BB, 50.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (67-53, 32-19 2nd half) @ Jupiter (43-75) 6:35 PM
Probable starter: Jason Creasy (3.83 ERA, 78:15 K/BB, 124.2 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (44-75, 24-27 2nd half) vs Augusta (57-62) 5:05 PM DH
Probable starter: Felipe Gonzalez (2.65 ERA, 79:23 K/BB, 85 IP) and Cody Dickson (4.20 ERA, 87:50 K/BB, 111.1 IP)
Short-Season A: Jamestown (25-31) vs Auburn (26-30) 6:05 PM DH
Probable Starter: Frank Duncan (3.45 ERA, 29:9 K/BB, 44.1 IP) and Montana DuRapau (2.85 ERA, 33:6 K/BB, 41 IP)
RK: Bristol (15-35) @ Kingsport (26-26) 7:00 PM
Probable Starter: Omar Basulto (2.65 ERA, 33:10 K/BB, 37.1 IP)
GCL: Pirates (17-29) vs Phillies (27-19) 12:00 PM
Probable Starter: Trey Supak (6.00 ERA, 12:10 K/BB, 15 IP)
DSL: Pirates (31-31) vs Angels (27-35) 10:30 AM
Highlights
2014 2nd round pick Mitch Keller struck out six batters in four innings yesterday in the GCL. We wrote about his outing yesterday. Check out one of the strikeouts below, with more video in yesterday’s article.
Here’s a great no-look catch by Edinson Volquez in last night’s Pirates’ win.
Recent Transactions
8/12: Brandon Cumpton recalled from Indianapolis. Casey Sadler optioned to Indianapolis.
8/12: Adrian Sampson promoted to Indianapolis.
8/11: Casey Sadler recalled from Indianapolis. Andrew McCutchen placed on the DL.
8/10: Pirates claim Tommy Field off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and option him to Triple-A.
8/10: Cody Rhodes assigned to Bristol.
8/10: Justin Topa activated from disabled list. Francisco Diaz placed on DL.
8/9: A.J. Morris assigned to Bradenton.
8/8: Pedro Alvarez activated from the bereavement list. Ernesto Frieri designated for assignment.
8/7: Pirates release Robby Rowland. Jeff Roy activated from disabled list.
8/7: Jay Jackson traded to the Brewers. Jake Brigham activated from disabled list.
8/7: Dean Anna outrighted to Indianapolis.
This Date in Pirates History
There are eight former Pittsburgh Pirates players that have been born on this date, among them are two of the better nicknames in baseball history. Current fans might remember long-time catcher Tom Prince, who spent eight seasons with the Pirates. He is currently the coach of the Pirates High-A team in Bradenton. Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell and Mudcat Grant have two great baseball nicknames and both were pretty good pitchers during their time. Both also have something in common with their Pirates career, they played for a World Series winner. Mizell pitched for the 1960 team, while Grant was part of the 1971 club. You can read more about these three players and five other former Pirates players here.
August 13,1926 is a day that changed the face of the Pirates franchise, with a series of moves known as the “ABC Affair”. The Pirates cut ties with three veterans, Babe Adams, who won 194 games with the team, Carson Bigbee, who spent 11 years in the outfield and Hall of Fame center fielder Max Carey. A summary of the circumstances surrounding these transactions can be found here, along with two trades of note and a game recap from the 1978 season.
