Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 5:48AM |  10°
MENU
Advertisement
Pirates Tyler Glasnow pitches against the Blue Jays at Dunedin Stadium earlier this spring.
1
MORE

So, about that movement on Tyler Glasnow's fastball

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

So, about that movement on Tyler Glasnow's fastball

BRADENTON, Fla. — Tyler Glasnow’s fastball has always had some natural movement on it, and he thought it was a problem. So he tried to compensate for the cut.

“My entire pro career I’ve been trying to find ways to get rid of the cut, and I’ve been trying to find ways to stop cutting it, thinking it was wrong,” Glasnow said.

Turns out, pitching coach Ray Searage doesn’t think there’s much wrong with the cutting action, and he has been working with Glasnow to embrace it.

Advertisement

“He’s got an eight-foot wingspan I think, anyway, and he’s not going to nail it every time that he needs to, getting out in front and keeping the fingers on top of the ball,” Searage said. “So right now a cut is not a bad thing…especially with the (velocity) that he’s got. As he gets going and stuff and gets a better feel for himself, which has been tremendous so far, it might straighten out, it might have some tail to it.”

Memories of a record 20 consecutive losing seasons are still fresh in the minds of many Pirates fans.
Elizabeth Bloom
Pirates fans have lost trust in the front office. Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly are listening.

Glasnow estimates that his fastball cuts 30 to 40 percent of the time, less so if he’s, say, pitching inside on a right-handed batter. As Glasnow put it, he and Searage have been working to straighten out his line to the plate rather than be pronated with his hand.

“I'm trying to throw the ball straight over the top with angle, and my hand just always, ever since I was a kid, I’d always get on the side of it,” Glasnow said. “So I’m just going to embrace it now. ... I think now just embracing it, and it’s easier for me to throw strikes with it, too.”

For Searage, the new approach is about not overthinking the pitch, which he throws from a slightly higher arm slot.

Advertisement

“It’s got to be in the natural slot for you to pronate out in front, so sometimes he might get up too high, but this is a process,” Searage said. 

“Just throw the ball,” Searage said. “Don’t think about it. You see the location, you’re going to throw the ball to the location and finish through it. Don’t worry about the cut action or anything like that. Just let it go. And that’s what he’s been doing the last couple times.”

Glasnow’s numbers this spring have not been stellar; he has a 7.31 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in five games, including four starts, and has given up three homers. But he is starting to rein in his control issues and improve his confidence on the mound, and he’s struck out 25 this spring to go with only five walks.

“Last year, around this time, I was not so confident,” Glasnow said. “So it’s just the baby steps to get back to where I am, and I'm encouraged by that for sure.”

Joe Musgrove pitches against the New York Yankees earlier this month.
Elizabeth Bloom
Joe Musgrove allows one run over five innings in final Grapefruit League start

In any case, spring training statistics don’t carry weight, especially for players who are guaranteed roster spots, as teams are encouraging them to work on different skills. Last spring, Glasnow earned a spot in the rotation after recording a 6.23 ERA, with 28 strikeouts and seven walks. This year, he will begin the season in the Pirates’ bullpen.

Even if that’s not the role that the Pirates ultimately envision for him, Glasnow said he enjoys the idea of warming up quickly and even of being thrown into a situation with runners on base.

“His ‘pens have been really good,” Searage said. “There have been sequences that have been really good.”

Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1750 and Twitter: @BloomPG.

First Published: March 25, 2018, 6:11 p.m.

RELATED
Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage talks with Tyler Glasnow after his day was done against the Orioles earlier this spring.
Elizabeth Bloom
'Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.' Ray Searage describes Tyler Glasnow's progress, other pitchers
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Traffic passes by U.S. Steel in Braddock on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. An activist investor has accused U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt of potential insider trading as the group pressures investors to support its own plan for the iconic Pittsburgh steelmaker, which includes a new board and abandoning a planned merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel.
1
business
Ancora launches ‘Make U.S. Steel Great Again’ campaign, accuses CEO of insider trading
Gov. Josh Shapiro is joined in the broadcast booth by Curtis Aiken before the start of Pitt-Syracuse on Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center.
2
sports
Governor Josh Shapiro aims to make Pennsylvania 'compete' in NIL, bring 'stability' to transfer portal
The WPIAL basketball playoffs are underway.
3
sports
WPIAL boys basketball playoffs: Down go the Highlanders, all the way out of PIAA playoffs
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)
4
news
McCormick on board with Trump, DOGE shakeup while Fetterman blasts 'chaos, confusion'
Head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith watch a receivers and defensive backs drill at Steelers Minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Thursday, June 13, 2024.
5
sports
Gerry Dulac: Next season’s major decisions loom this week for Mike Tomlin, Steelers staff
Pirates Tyler Glasnow pitches against the Blue Jays at Dunedin Stadium earlier this spring.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST sports
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story