Keller leading Pirates’ strong starting staff
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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
PITTSBURGH -- Through the first four months of the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Pittsburgh Pirates' starting rotation has been outstanding.
Right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes, taken by the Pirates as their top pick in the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft after leading LSU to an NCAA championship, has been other-worldly in a small sample size, becoming the first National League rookie pitcher to start a MLB All-Star Game since 1995.
Two young right-handers, Jared Jones -- who made the club at the end of spring training -- and Luis Ortiz, have provided eye-opening performances, and lefty Bailey Falter has been a steady, pleasant surprise.
But the glue to the Pirates' staff has been veteran right-hander Mitch Keller, whose steadiness and consistency on the mound have been his greatest assets. In 20 starts this season, Keller has carded a 10-5 record with a 3.34 earned run average while striking out 108 batters and walking just 32 in 121• innings pitched.
He compiled a 49-game streak over the past two seasons in which he pitched at least five innings in a start, allowing three earned runs or fewer in 33 of those outings. That streak ended right before the All-Star break, but matched the modern-day Pirates record in that category that had been established by A.J. Burnett over the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Wilbur Cooper established the all-time Pirates record of 66 games before his streak ended back in the 1920 season.
"I just try to stay even-keeled, and that's what (breeds) consistency,'' Keller, 28, said during the Pirates' recent home stand at PNC Park. "I try to connect with Jared and Paul and some of our other pitchers, but I'm not trying to be an active leader, and I'm not trying to do anything different than what I've been doing my whole career.
"I'm just trying to be consistent day in and day out,'' added Keller, who made his first major league start with the Pirates back in 2019.
Keller has done a great job at that, according to Pirates manager Derek Shelton, who regards Keller as the biggest factor in the Pirates' ability to stay in the thick of the NLe playoff race this season as the calendar will soon be flipping to August.
"Mitch Keller is the reason that we are where we are this season,'' Shelton said. "He possesses multiple weapons on the mound, and he takes the ball every fourth or fifth day for us and gives us the consistency that you want from one of your starting pitchers.''
Catcher Joey Bart calls Keller "the backbone of our pitching staff,'' and few in the Pirates' clubhouse would disagree.
Relief pitcher Colin Holderman said that Keller, whether Keller acknowledges it or not, is the leader on the pitching staff.
"Our rotation in unbelievable, and we've got some workhorses there, led by Mitch Keller at the top,'' Holderman said. "He sets the tone, and everybody else after that has been just amazing.''
Keller was selected for the All-Star Game in 2023, when he compiled a 9-3 record in the first half of the season. He finished the year with 13 wins, and his 210 strikeouts were a club record for a right-handed pitcher, surpassing the previous mark that was held by Burnett, who fanned 209 batters in the 2013 season.
"It was unbelievable,'' Keller said of his All-Star Game appearance last season in Seattle, where he pitched one inning, striking out a batter and allowing a solo home run. "It's just a tremendous experience to be named one of the greats of the game for that season, and to share a clubhouse with everybody else that achieved that accomplishment is a great honor.''
It's an honor that most felt that Keller deserved to earn again this season, but that never materialized for him. Skenes, who has set the MLB world on its ear since making his much-anticipated major league debut on May 11, got off to a 6-0 start and was selected, along with Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds, for the 2024 game at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Tex.
Keller, at least publicly, wasn't stewing much over the snub.
"It sucks, but there's nothing that I could do about it,'' Keller, who was chosen in the second round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Pirates, said. "Obviously, I've been trying my best to be an All-Star every year.''
That has been rewarded by the Pirates, who signed Keller to a five-year, $77 million contract extension earlier this year.
Despite his recent success, Keller hasn't always had a smooth road in baseball.
He was demoted to Class AAA Indianapolis in 2021 and sent to the bullpen for a short spell in the 2022 season to work through some struggles on the mound.
Keller -- a top 50 MLB prospect at the outset of his professional career -- showed resilience and resourcefulness during those setbacks, however, adding to his fast ball and curve ball repertoire by perfecting a very effective sinker ball.
"I don't know if (those experiences) taught me anything except to just keep on going,'' Keller said of the setbacks earlier in his career. "Not everything is going to be easy, so you've just got to keep pushing through and to see the positives in everything.
"That really helped me to realize that it's just a game, but it's also our job, and I need to go out there and do the best that I can every day. That's all I can do,'' added Keller, who pitched one of MLB's rare complete games in a 4-1 Pirates' win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on May 6 at PNC Park.
Keeping perspective throughout his tough times as well as his successes has been essential for Keller.
"I try not to let it get to me when things are down, and I try not to get too high when things are going well,'' Keller said. "No matter what, I just try to be the same guy.''
The Keller file
Age: 28.
History: Chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round of the MLB Amateur Draft out of Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and made his debut in 2019. Was a National League All-Star in 2023, when he posted a 13-9 season record.
2024 season: Keller has a 10-5 record with a 3.34 earned run average in 20 starts.
Noteworthy: Keller and his wife, Clancy, married in 2020. Keller's older brother Jon was a pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles' organization.