Tampa Bay Rays: Top 8 Candidates for 2020 Rotation

3. Tyler Glasnow

Tyler Glasnow was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays in the Chris Archer-2018 trade. The Rays sent Archer to the Pirates for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and Shane Baz.

Glasnow took the next step as a frontline starter in 2019, in 12 starts he pitched to the tune of a 1.78 ERA

His 2.3 WAR over 60.2 innings averages out to a 7.6 WAR over 200 innings. That would have been good for number one in the league, 0.2 points better than Gerrit Cole.

Of all starting pitchers who pitched at least 60 innings in 2019, Glasnow had had the following ranks:

12th in K/9
1st in HR/9
1st in HR/FB%
1st in ERA
1st in FIP

His four-seamer can reach 100mph, which makes his 90mph changeup look ridiculously hard to hit coming out of his hand. It looks like a fastball, it is as fast as a lot of fastballs, and yet… it’s not a fastball!

Steamer Projections doesn’t quite have him vying for the Cy Young in 2020, although these are fairly solid projections considering the emphasis on past performances.

Glasnow 2020 Steamer Projections

3.70 ERA,163.0 IP, 202 Ks, 66 BBs, 29 Starts

Glasnow had a career-best 2.08 walks per nine in 2019. His curveball earned a 55% swing and miss rate in 2019, according to Fangraphs. 

According to Statcast, his fastball velocity ranked among the 95th percentile in the league, his curve spin rate is in the 95th percentile, Glasnow was in the 99th percentile in xwOBA, and 98th percentile in xBA and xSLG.

If Glasnow can continue the path he started down in 2019, he could be next up for the Rays to challenge for the AL Cy Young. He’ll be following two guys who did so the previous two seasons.