Back in the fifth round of the 2017 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees selected an impressive right handed starting pitcher from one of the better baseball schools in the country, Rice. That pitching prospect is the next prospect on our list, Glenn Otto. Otto has fantastic size for a starting pitcher standing 6’3 and weighing about 230 pounds. Otto features a fastball the sits in the low to mid 90s and a vicious curveball. Otto does have a changeup in his arsenal but you rarely see him throw it. Up until this point in his career, he’s mainly been a two pitch pitcher. He’s had pretty good success in his first three seasons in the Yankees organization. Last year saw Otto start in rookie ball before he moved up to Advanced A ball.
Bounce Back 2019
2019 was a very important year for Glenn Otto. After impressing scouts in 2017, Otto developed a blood clot in his shoulder which sidelined him for most of 2018. It was very important for Otto to come back last year and prove that he’s the pitcher every one saw in 2017. Otto appeared in 17 games last year where he started 14 and threw 61.1 innings. Otto went 3-3 in those outings with an impressive 3.23 ERA and striking out 74 batters. Otto does allow his fair share of baserunners, but Otto has the stuff to work out of jams which he showed over and over again during the 2019 season. It was very encouraging to see him back on the mound throwing his fastball which topped out around 95 last year while mixing in his 12-6 curve. Otto has really good stuff and all the tools to become a really good pitcher in this system, but there are definitely areas for improvement.
Command and Control
After bouncing back last year, Otto now needs to turn his attention to his command. Otto had an alarming WHIP last year of 1.50 where he averaged walking five batters per nine innings. While his curveball is very good, at times it looks like he can’t control it. When he loses the touch on his curveball he stops attacking hitters with his fastball. He will try to dot the corners with the pitch which is something difficult to do. Because there isn’t an incredible amount of life on his fastball, it’s not a pitch he can souly rely on. If Otto can start to consistently throw his curveball and changeup for strikes, his fastball can become a much better and less anticipated pitch. The strikeout numbers are good and the raw tools are there, but the tools really need to be sharpened before Otto can climb any higher in the system. The kid definitely has the talent to make that climb and I think you’ll see him really polish some things before you see Glenn Otto take the mound again. Another intriguing arm to watch in a very deep Yankees farm system.