Mitch Keller, a right-handed starting pitcher in his fourth season and, presumably, a second full season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has a lot to show.
Keller, the Pirates’ once-top pitching prospect, has yet to produce the results that were anticipated of him.
Keller’s season was up and down (almost quite literally). For the majority of the season, he struggled with consistency, which forced him to return to triple-A Indianapolis in June until rejoining the big-league club in August.
His numbers before and after his time in the minors are as follows:
12 starts, 47.1 innings, 22.4 percent strikeout rate, 12.7 percent walk rate, 7.04 ERA/4.97 FIP from April 4th to June 10th
From August 1st to October 3rd, he made 11 starts, pitched 53.1 innings, struck out 16.9% of batters, walked 8.3% of batters, and had a 5.40 ERA/3.71 FIP.
Keller’s performance in the second half of the season was noticeably better than in the first. While his ERA was higher than you’d expect, it was largely due to two outings in which he gave up 6 and 7 runs over 9.1 innings.
His ERA was 3.89 outside of his two starts.
His best pitching performance came in the second half. Keller had not made two solid starts or two starts with a game score of more than 40 before his comeback.
That changed when he returned in August, and then in September, he went on a four-start winning streak with a 3.32 ERA and 2.52 FIP while pitching at least 5 innings in each start.
How Much Does Mitch Keller Make?
Mitch Keller earns an annual average salary of $725,000.