William S. Hart High School graduate Tyler Glasnow is heading to the World Series as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays and was announced as their starting pitcher for Game 1.

Glasnow was a member of the Hart Baseball team from 2007 to 2011 and went on to be selected in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

His professional career started in the lowest levels of the minor leagues, but he steadily advanced through each level of the minors from 2011 to 2015 before he had the opportunity to make his big league debut in 2016.

Glasnow struggled somewhat with his control in his early days in the major league and battled with some minor injuries.

While he began his time with the Pirates as a starter, after a 2017 season which saw him go 2-7 with a 7.69 ERA in 15 games he was designated as a relief pitcher by Pittsburgh going into 2018.

Before the 2018 season even began Glasnow was traded by Pittsburgh to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a package deal for pitcher Chris Archer.

Now two years removed from the trade, the Rays appear to have been clear winners as Archer finished the 2019 season 3-9 with a career-high 5.19 ERA and had to miss the entirety of the 2020 season due to surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, while Glasnow finished 2019 with a 6-1 record, a 1.78 ERA and has been integral to the Rays’ success in 2020.

Glasnow’s ERA has been higher over this shortened season than in 2019 at 4.08, but he went 5-1 in his starts during the regular season and has been a key cog for the Rays this postseason.

He started series-clinching games in the Wild Card Round and the ALDS against the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, respectively.

His Game 5 start against the Yankees came on just two days rest after a 93 pitch starting appearance in Game 2 and while he hadn’t been expected to last long, Glasnow made it into the third inning.

Glasnow’s sole loss this postseason came in a 3-4 loss in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

Now fully rested, Glasnow was named the Rays’ starter for Game 1 with Clayton Kershaw to get the start for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While the Hart High School baseball program has produced a number of major leaguers over the years, Glasnow now joins the more exclusive group of Hart alumni to play in a World Series, with the most recent appearance coming from Trevor Bauer and Mike Montgomery who faced off in the 2016 World Series.

KHTS Sports is your place for 2020 Santa Clarita high school sports and Los Angeles Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC.