Watch CBS News

Pirates' Minor League Director: Taillon & Glasnow Have Grown Immensely

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Pirates Director of Minor League Operations Larry Broadway joined Chris Mack, Josh Miller, and Jim Colony on "The Fan Morning Show" on Friday.

Broadway offered an update on the development of top pitching prospects Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow, who have been fantastic through one month of play in Triple-A and may be headed to the majors soon.

Broadway has been incredibly impressed by the attitudes of both Taillon and Glasnow, saying that their mentality has been a major contributor to their success.

"These guys have grown immensely," Broadway said. "Jameson has owned these last two years (that he missed due to injury), to just be rock solid mentally, and it's showing in his composure on the mound that he's not being wavered by things. He's going about his business like a pro, just the level of focus in his eyes is different, and the level of steadiness is different than when he showed up here five years ago."

"It's exciting to see both of them. [Glasnow] is the same way. High-strung kid. He wants to get after it, and he's starting to learn how to get that laser focus, how to slow the game down, to slow himself down to give himself the best chance to repeat and to compete."

Despite all that, it can be easy for talented, young prospects to get a big head and lose patience when they aren't called up right away. Broadway said the Pirates do their best to be up front with prospects about the timetable that they have in mind.

"We try to treat them as men the best we can," Broadway said. "Be up front with them, be transparent with them, let them know what's going on…we try to be very transparent with where we want to go with them, in conjunction with where they want to personally, and try to move forward. So, there's not a ton of behind-the-curtain stuff, so to speak, to where they're just left in the dark."

Taillon has been a particularly intriguing case this year because he has gotten off to a surprisingly good start after missing two years due to injury. It's led many to wonder if he's ready to play in the majors.

While the Pirates have made clear that mastering secondary pitches is the biggest obstacle for Glasnow, Broadway says that their caution with Taillon is more about taking things slowly after such a long time off.

"He hasn't pitched competitively in a couple years," Broadway said. "So, where we're at right now is really just building back up the workload, making sure he's conditioned to face guys every five days and be able to go deep into games."

"You don't really want to send another five-inning pitcher up to Clint [Hurdle]."

The interview can be heard here:

Like The Fan On Facebook
Follow The Fan On Twitter

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.