Tyler Glasnow had Cy Young-caliber numbers last season, but his year was cut short by injury. Could he contend for the award this year? Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Glasnow’s and the Rays’ 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Tyler Glasnow MLB Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- AL Cy Young Award: Glasnow is +1200
- Odds to win AL East: Rays are +300 second-favorites
At the July 2018 MLB trade deadline, the Rays traded then-ace Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal that brought back two top Pittsburgh prospects in outfielder Austin Meadows and pitchers Tyler Glasnow. The Pirates were trying to make a playoff push that season and the trade didn’t look too bad because Archer was a very good if a bit inconsistent pitcher who was under team control through the 2021 season. Alas, the deal turned out to be an utter heist for Tampa Bay as Archer has been terrible and Meadows and Glasnow very good.
was brilliant in his limited time last year with a 6-1 record and 1.78 ERA in 12 starts. He was one of the best pitchers in the majors before suffering a right forearm strain in mid-May that landed him on the injured list. At the time of that injury, Glasnow ranked among AL leaders (min. 40 IP) in ERA (1.86, 1st), WHIP (0.91, 2nd), BB/9 IP ratio (1.68, 3rd), SO/BB ratio (6.11, 3rd) and HR/9 IP ratio (0.56, 7th). His average fastball velocity was 97.0 mph, according to FanGraphs. His max velocity, according to StatCast, was 100.4 mph in his season debut.
issued only 14 walks in 60.2 inning last year and has yielded only 33 BB in 116.1 IP (2.55 BB/9 IP) career innings with Tampa Bay compared to 5.79 BB/9 with Pittsburgh. He held opponents to a .186 avg. (40-for-215) last season and owns a .197 opp avg. since joining the Rays in 2018, compared to a .273 opp avg. with the Pirates.
He made two outings in the ALDS loss to Houston. In Game 5, he surrendered four runs in 2 2/3 innings to take the Game 5. All of the runs scored in the first, with three coming before Glasnow could record an out. Glasnow went on to retire the final seven batters he faced, but the Rays couldn’t recover from the bad start. Glasnow ended up taking two of the three losses in the ALDS.
had wrist surgery in November. It was median nerve decompression procedure in his right wrist. He avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.05 million contract in January with the Rays as he was eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter as a Super 2 player. Glasnow said his surgery was “super minor” and he was ready for spring training. He added that he will be modifying his pitch mix to replace his changeup with a splitter.
“Being so long, being 6-(foot)-8 with all the leverage anyway, when my head gets all out of whack and I’m just flopping all over the place … being more compact and short, I feel really good,” he said this spring. “It’s a healthier way of throwing.”
At 6’8″, he throws his heater faster than all starters but Noah Syndergaard and Gerrit Cole. His curve, which he buries down in the zone, is among the league’s fastest as well.
A healthy Glasnow should be a major piece in what looks like an outstanding Rays rotation in 2020. He’ll join Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, Ryan Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos as rotation options for manager Kevin Cash. Last season Chirinos, another hard thrower, fared better as a starter, going 6-5 with a 3.54 ERA in 18 starts, than as a reliever (3-0 with a 4.97 ERA).
