Bucs prospect Glasnow has strikeout stuff

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, the Pirates' No. 3 prospect, threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out a season-high 12 batters Wednesday to lead Class A Advanced Bradenton to a 3-0 victory at Tampa.

Glasnow, ranked No. 23 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list, allowed one hit and two walks to earn his first victory of the season. He came within one strikeout of matching his career high and the Marauders' club record.

Relievers Robby Rowland and Josh Smith combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings to complete the shutout. Smith pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his third save of the season.

Glasnow missed most of April due to a back injury he sustained in Spring Training, but he has looked as sharp as ever since returning to action. He has made seven starts for the Marauders and is 1-3 with a 2.48 ERA. Glasnow has struck out 37 batters and walked 22 in 32 2/3 innings.

Last year, Glasnow led all Pirates Minor Leaguers with 164 strikeouts in 111 1/3 innings at Class A West Virginia. Despite his late start to this season, he is making another run at becoming the organization's Minor League strikeout king. Glasnow is averaging 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings and his 37 strikeouts already rank eighth among Pirates Minor Leaguers, 11 behind Triple-A right-hander Jake Brigham.