Tyler Glasnow looked good in his second spring start on Wednesday as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-5, at Charlotte Sports Park.
Glasnow tossed 1-2/3 scoreless frames while allowing two hits (one on the infield) while fanning three on 38 pitches (27 strikes, 71% strike rate). The right-hander leaned on his fastball — Glasnow threw 13 upper 90’s fastballs in the first inning alone — curveball, and splitter.
Glasnow also threw a 93 mph changeup in the first inning even though he called the pitch a “bad one”.
It’s enough of a drop (in velocity), I guess, if I’m throwing hard enough, and I feel like I should’ve gotten it down. I think early on (in Spring Training), I was just trying to get into the game rhythm, but I’ll probably mix it in a little bit more.
— Tyler Glasnow
Interestingly enough, Glasnow told Juan Toribio (MLB.com) that he has been mixing the location of his glove from pitch to pitch to put an end to his nasty habit of tipping pitches; something that got him into trouble in game five of the 2019 ALDS against the Astros. He mentioned that he consciously changes and alternates the glove’s placement after any given pitch. According to Glasnow, the adjustment requires some thought and strategy.
I’m pretty sure I’m not tipping at all. It’s something I’ll look at video tomorrow, but I’m fairly certain that it is taken care of.
— Tyler Glasnow
Yet, he may not like what he see’s when he looks at the video on Thursday, as it would appear he again is unconsciously tipping his pitches despite boasting pure, plus stuff.
As Dominik Vega (DRaysBay) pointed out, every fastball thrown by Glasnow had the line crossing through the glove, while the line was above the glove before every curveball is thrown.
That is to say, while his stuff was pretty nasty against Toronto, he still has a subtle yet noticeable tell that can be detected by batters.
At any rate, many positives came out of Glasnow’s start Wednesday afternoon.
Felt good, felt strong. It was nice to get an up today too so, just get ready for next week.
— Tyler Glasnow
Pitching coach Kyle Snyder also thought Diego Castillo looked sharp in his inning of work. Castillo looked like he was in mid-season form, hurling an efficient seven-pitch seven-pitch perfect frame.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay scored four first-inning runs, taking advantage of five walks.
Hunter Renfroe looped a two-run single before Kevin Kiermaier added a pair on a two-run double. When all was said and done, nine different Rays had hits, while eight different players scored runs.
The New What Next
Ryan Yarbrough will make his third start of the spring when the Rays play host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. The southpaw, who hasn’t allowed a run in Grapefruit League play, is slated to throw three or four innings, depending on his pitch count. Nick Anderson and Andrew Kittredge are also scheduled to pitch.
Rays 3/5/20 Starting Lineup
- Meadows LF
- Diaz 3B
- Tsutsugo DH
- Martinez 1B
- Renfroe RF
- Wendle 2B
- Zunino C
- Margot CF
- Adames SS
- Yarbrough LHP
Noteworthiness
— Blake Snell (elbow soreness) threw for a second consecutive day and is on track to throw a bullpen session on Friday.
— After being hit by an errant foul ball, minor league outfielder Garrett Whitley (facial fracture) received good news on Wednesday. A specialist determined that Whitley does not need surgery. He will take about a week off to rest and could be ready around the start of the minor league season.