The Los Angeles Dodgers muscled their way to a 6-4 comeback win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, snapping a two-game losing streak in Cactus League play.
Tyler Glasnow made his second start of Spring Training, building off a debut outing in which he struggled to miss bats, leading to some bumpy results.
Glasnow struck out the first two hitters he faced in a clean first inning, going on to tally five strikeouts. His stuff looked locked in, keeping batters off balance and in spots to chase, something he highlighted following the game, via SportsNet LA:
“It’s better, not perfect. But it was definitely more around the strike zone and getting ahead a little bit better. Better than the first one for sure, just baby steps.”
Glasnow improved on his Dodgers Spring Training debut, displaying the devastating secondary stuff that has garnered the recognition as a top pitcher in Major League Baseball. Shaking off some initial jitters, the right-hander took solid strides on Friday:
“I think I just got into more of a rhythm, kind of like competition mode. I was able to separate what I was doing before and then just get on the mound and compete. But everything felt pretty timed up today.”
Because he possesses a high-powered arsenal, command is an area that Glasnow must keep at the top of his priority list. His dominant outing put a bow on a successful night:
“I definitely feel like I’m getting more into the rhythm of things. And I think as games go on, I’ll get more of that in-game feeling, but I do feel like I’m in a good spot.”
Glasnow is penciled in as a front-end arm in the Dodgers starting rotation, he’ll have more of an opportunity to build that length he’s accustomed to. Positive results early on are great, but when mechanics, and results line up, that’s an ideal start in spring.
Tyler Glasnow’s ceiling with the Dodgers
Even with a checkered injury history, Glasnow is in the prime of his career.
His career-high in innings came this past season when he logged 120 innings over 21 starts. Glasnow posted a 3.53 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 2.91 FIP.
His 12.2 strikeouts per nine is a high bar, but he has the potential to expand on such numbers. Walking just 2.8 batters per nine, Glasnow is the ideal arm for what the Dodgers lacked in their rotation last year.
He has the chance to be a top starting pitcher in the National League, if not all of baseball.
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