Rays’ Tyler Glasnow Makes Strong 2022 Debut
The Tampa Bay Rays’ starting rotation received a solid boost as one of their top pitchers made his 2022 debut on Wednesday at Progressive Field.
Making his highly-anticipated return, right-hander Tyler Glasnow made his first big-league start against the Cleveland Guardians since undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer. And the 29-year-old fared well in his first outing at the MLB level in over 15 months.
Glasnow was placed on a pitch count as part of his recovery, limiting him to just 50 pitches over three innings. But he certainly made his presence felt immediately, throwing a 98.2 m.p.h. fastball to open the bottom of the first inning.
Overall, Glasnow allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out three batters before departing after the third inning. His only blemish was a 403-foot home run off the bat of third baseman Gabriel Arias, tying the game at 1-1 in the third.
The 6-foot-8 hurler’s velocity was jumping off the radar gun, as his four-seamer averaged 98.1 m.p.h. and maxed out at 99.4 m.p.h. That was an increase of 1.1 m.p.h. from his heater’s average velocity in 2021.
Glasnow’s slider also featured some extra life, averaging 91.6 m.p.h. and topping out at 93.7 m.p.h. – a 4.1 m.p.h. increase from last season. His curveball also looked sharp, generating four whiffs on five swings.
Speaking to reporters after the game, the fifth-round selection from 2011 admitted how good it felt to be back on the mound in a major-league ballpark, prompting him to push manager Kevin Cash to let him return for a fourth inning of work. But his efforts proved unsuccessful.
“It felt normal,” Glasnow said. “I think the routine’s been similar for so long that it’s kind of picked up right where I left off. … Mechanically, everything felt pretty synced up, and my quick step felt pretty good as well. Everything felt just as consistent.”
Prior to Wednesday’s start, Glasnow made four rehab appearances with triple-A Durham, with none of those outings lasting more than 2.2 innings. He logged seven innings, surrendering a single run on one hit and four walks while recording 14 strikeouts.
The Newhall, California native is likely to make one more start before the regular season concludes. But considering he threw just 50 pitches last time out, there probably isn’t enough time for him to become fully stretched out ahead of the playoffs.
Still, the Rays are fortunate to have Glasnow back and available to compete in at least some capacity. Even if he doesn’t pitch deep into games, the hard-throwing righty should be capable of making an impact in October.
Last season, the former top prospect tossed 88.0 innings before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery, posting a 2.66 ERA, 2.74 xERA, 2.77 FIP and a career-best 2.6 fWAR rating.
Based on the current wild-card standings, the Rays would travel to Toronto to face the Blue Jays in a best-of-three series in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Dtimko1723. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.