Tyler Glasnow would be the best pitcher on most MLB teams. On the Dodgers, he is just another piece of the puzzle, which, when fully constructed, is by far the best team in baseball.
His performance so far this postseason has confirmed the obvious: that the Dodgers currently have three ace-level starters.
Los Angeles had their eyes on Glasnow ever since facing him in the World Series in 2020 when he was with Tampa Bay. At that time, he was still a bit of a project, but it was clear he had the talent to be great.
A 98 miles per hour fastball, combined with his length and ability to mix in nasty offspeed pitches, is the kind of stuff managers dream about.
Health and consistency are what have held him back in his career from being regarded as one of the best in the sport, but now he has finally been rewarded the opportunity to prove what many already knew.
In two appearances as a starter and one as a reliever this postseason, Glasnow has pitched 13 1/3 innings, giving up only 1 run while striking out 18 batters.
“I think especially earlier on in the playoffs, earlier in my career, I didn’t have a ton of success,” said Glasnow. “I think just being able to go out, be myself, stay athletic, and pitch well has been great. Having that bullpen outing, to start, felt nice, and it carried over well into my starts, and hopefully I can keep it going.”
In Game 3 of the National League Division Series, Glasnow got into some trouble early in the first two innings and built up a high pitch count, but he was able to escape, only allowing the Brewers to score once.
The rest of the way, he locked in, striking out the side in the 3rd and 4th innings.
“I am really proud of Tyler in the sense of the pitch count early and knowing we still needed length from him. For him to keep his wits about him, continue making pitches, compete, and shorten the game is what we need from him. He has done that in the last six or seven starts,” said manager Dave Roberts.
Generally, Glawnow is not going to pitch as deep into games like Yoshinobu Yamamoto (9 innings in Game 2) and Blake Snell (8 innings in Game 1). His stuff is so good that the pitch count starts to add up due to the high number of strikeouts and long at-bats, but he is just as effective when it comes to limiting runs.
All three of the Dodgers’ starting pitchers in the NLCS —Snell, Yamamoto, and Glasnow —came to Los Angeles to pitch in October. After missing out due to injury during their 2024 championship run, Glasnow has been one of the most important players this time around.
“I think last year was tough. When you’re in that position, you just want to root for the team and be there as much as you can. It was nice to be part of it, but this year, for sure, being able to participate and being able to contribute to the team has felt awesome,” said Glasnow.
As the third starter in the rotation, the Dodgers are not asking Glasnow to do too much. They want him to be as great as he is capable of, but just being himself will get him there.
“I think I’ll always suffer from trying to be perfect,” said Glasnow.
“I’m just trying to stay in the moment and not be too hard on myself, and compete with what I have and not try to make everything, every pitch, so perfect,” Glasnow continued. “I think I’ve just gotten into a nice rhythm, just being able to go out there and be athletic. Just clear my mind and go out and throw.”
Benjamin Verbrugge is a reporter for News4usonline who studied journalism at CSU Dominguez Hills. “Sports have brought me much joy throughout my life, and I want to give a little back to something that has meant so much to me.” Email Benjamin at benverbrugge8@gmail.com.
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