Notes: 4 pitches for Glasnow? Robertson's blast

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Tyler Glasnow was among the large group of Rays pitchers that threw live batting practice on Wednesday, and the right-hander received rave reviews from the coaching staff and his teammates.

“He’s worked hard,” said manager Kevin Cash. “I was impressed. The effort level was good but it also was under control. You could tell by the way he was throwing so many strikes and his misses were just, just misses. You could tell by the hitters reactions that the stuff was coming out really, really hot.”

Glasnow threw 25 pitches during his session and faced Joey Wendle, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and Hunter Renfroe. He threw mostly four-seam fastballs and the right-hander didn’t throw a splitter, which is one of the pitches he’s trying to establish during Spring Training.

Interestingly enough, however, Glasnow threw a couple of changeups, which is a pitch that the right-hander featured last season but said he was going to stop using because it caused some discomfort in his throwing arm.

Glasnow said that he has cleaned up some of the mechanical issues that caused him discomfort with the changeup, adding that he “feels good” after studying the video. Glasnow threw the pitch 3.5 percent last season, but it was an effective weapon, limiting opposing hitters to a .125 batting average.

The Rays right-hander will continue to work on the splitter and changeup, to go along with his usual four-seam fastball and curveball combination. There’s a chance Glasnow goes into the regular season with the ability to throw all four pitches, but it’s still too early to tell.

“I’m fiddling around with both of them,” Glasnow said. “But I’m trying to work on my line to home so my changeup is better, so I’m not pronating it, I’m just like straight behind it. It feels good.”

Other live batting practice notes
While Glasnow was the headliner, other pitchers that threw a live batting practice included Ryan Yarbrough, Diego Castillo, Colin Poche, Yonny Chirinos, Jalen Beeks and Trevor Richards. Prospects Joe Ryan and Shane McClanahan also threw 25 pitches. Of the group, Cash mentioned Chirinos and Richards as pitchers that impressed.

Daniel Robertson had one of the best swings of the day, hitting a home run to left field off Poche. Robertson is competing for one of the last roster spots and remained consistent throughout the offseason with the adjustments he made with his batting stance and hand placement.

Cash also mentioned Brian O’Grady as someone who took some good swings off live pitching Wednesday.

“O’Grady smoked a ball off our new building,” Cash said. “It was foul, but it was still impressive.”