ST. LOUIS _ Tyler Glasnow goes to bed relatively early, so he was asleep when Class AAA Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor left him a voicemail around midnight earlier this week. It turned out Glasnow had more phone calls to make after getting back to his skipper.
After three months, 17 starts, three no-hit outings and more strikeouts than anybody else in his league, Glasnow, the 22-year-old right-hander whom Baseball America ranked as the top prospect in the Pirates' minor league system, will make his major league debut Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
In 96 innings, Glasnow struck out 113 batters. He had a 1.78 ERA and has held opposing batters to a .176 batting average.
"I think these last couple weeks, it's probably the most confident I've been," Glasnow said. "I've been feeling really good as of late. It was a good time."
But Glasnow also walked four or more batters in seven of his 17 starts and walked 4.9 batters per nine innings this year. For some reason, Glasnow said, his command worsens when he focuses on throwing strikes, and improves when he pitches more aggressively.
"Pitching to get outs, seems the command plays better," manager Clint Hurdle said. "When he's trying to throw strikes or not walk guys, the command gets a little sprayish."
Glasnow walked at least four batters in four consecutive starts in June, but walked only one in his most recent Class AAA outing.
"I feel like he has gotten to a point where he's been able to identify when he's getting to that mode where he's walking a few guys or he's losing some control," said Chad Kuhl, who pitched with Glasnow at Indianapolis. "He'll be able to get back quicker than he has in the past."
Injuries to Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon created two voids in the rotation. Hurdle said Glasnow's promotion has nothing to do with Jon Niese returning to Pittsburgh to get his left knee examined.
"Once Jameson was placed on the DL because of the timing we broke out the two starts, one for (Steven) Brault and one for Glasnow," he said.
Glasnow will be the 11th starting pitcher the Pirates used this season. They required eight last year. Three of Glasnow's rotation mates at Class AAA Indianapolis _ Taillon, Brault and Kuhl _ already debuted this summer.
"I think I was confident enough to know that if I did stay down and do well I was going to go up eventually," Glasnow said.
The Pirates drafted Glasnow in the fifth round in 2011. He is 6 feet 8 and throws a fastball in the high-90s, with an excellent curveball and a still-developing changeup.
"I just think you see a better version of him out there, especially mentality-wise," Kuhl said.
Cole and Taillon will likely return shortly after next weeks' All-Star break, which will mean a crowded rotation, seven pitchers for five spots. With three weeks remaining until the non-waiver trade deadline, the Pirates could look to move a starter _ the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins have some level of interest in Francisco Liriano, according to MLB.com's Jon Morosi and the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo _ but the Pirates don't like to leave themselves short-handed in terms of starting depth.
