Tyler Glasnow may be a future star for the Pirates. We know all about his talent, high ceiling, velocity, excellent fastball and curve and on and on.
We've heard about it all since Glasnow was drafted in 2011, so there's no need to rehash it all. There's no question he has talent and a chance to become a great pitcher someday. That time doesn't appear to be now because he isn't good enough to be in major league rotation.
He lasted only 31/3 innings Wednesday against the Cubs at PNC Park. He walked four and allowed six hits and three earned runs and wasn't exactly a model of efficiency, either _ he threw 89 pitches, only 46 of them for strikes.
Glasnow called his performance "pretty poor." Nobody would argue with him.
He has pitched five innings only once in four starts _ April 15 in Chicago, where he gave up six hits and six runs. He has registered only 142/3 innings for an average start of 32/3 innings. He holds a 7.98 ERA and 2.46 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched), and opposing batters are hitting .333 with a .452 on-base percentage and .492 slugging percentage. He has thrown 354 pitches, only 201 for strikes.
It may not be time to pull the plug on Glasnow yet, but that time has to be coming soon. As much as the Pirates believe he can't accomplish or learn anything more at Class AAA, it may be where he belongs at this point.
The Pirates need to figure this out. Clint Hurdle won't allow this to continue much longer, nor should he. The Pirates want him to sink or swim, but, so far, Glasnow has been mostly a disaster. If there is no progress in the next two, maybe three, starts, Glasnow has to be sent down to Indianapolis.
The Pirates have only one day off in the next 34 days. Hurdle said Wednesday that the Pirates need some length from the starters in order to survive. That was likely a not-so-subtle hint to Glasnow that his time in the rotation is running out.
It isn't fair to Glasnow to keep running him out there if he can't throw strikes. The longer this goes, the more mental it becomes and the more the Pirates risk damaging his future. If Glasnow loses confidence, it could take him a long time to regain it _ and there's no guarantee he will ever get it back. He's still young, and at some point the Pirates need to protect him from himself.
The Pirates don't have a lot of pitching depth in their system, but it's hard to believe they would be worse off with Steven Brault or even Drew Hutchison. Hutchison hasn't been good in the minors, but at some point the Pirates need to figure out what he's capable of doing.
It's common for young players to struggle in their first stint in the majors, and Glasnow is only 24. He seemingly has a bright future, and the Pirates need to continue to try and develop him. But that development may need to come in Indianapolis because he doesn't appear to be ready to help the Pirates right now.
