BRADENTON, Fla. -- Mitch Keller was off to a fantastic start. His offseason work was already bearing fruit. He consistently showed off his top-of-the-rotation stuff. Then, just like that, bad luck struck.
Keller exited Saturday’s contest as a precaution with a left thigh bruise after being struck by a 104.1 mph line drive off the bat of the Tigers’ Daz Cameron in the second inning of the Pirates’ second Spring Training game, which they won, 6-3. His status is day to day.
“He got hit pretty flush on the thigh,” manager Derek Shelton said. “It was just more of a precautionary thing because he got stung pretty good, but it sounds like he’s in a pretty good spot."
“It was hit so hard, I only saw it at the last second,” third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said.
Keller attempted to field the ball and throw it to first after being hit but noticeably limped off the mound as he tried to field the ball. Following a very quick deliberation with Shelton and a trainer, Keller was removed from the game.
All things considered, the news could’ve been much worse. It is currently unclear if Keller will be ready to make his next start, but with the condensed Spring Training schedule, the Pirates will likely exercise plenty of caution.
Keller, 25, was off to a very encouraging start before his afternoon was cut short. In 1 2/3 innings, Keller didn't allow a run and struck out a batter. Keller’s average fastball velocity was 96.7 mph, almost three full ticks faster than last season. The uptick in speed, though, shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who followed Keller on social media.
In February, Keller posted a video of a bullpen session on Instagram in which he was sitting in the high 90s and touched 100.9 mph with his heater.
At Tread Athletics, Keller worked on extending his arm action. That, in turn, not only resulted in better velocity but a better ability to put spin on his breaking pitches. The result in his first outing of the spring was a lot of turned heads.
“He was in the high 90s, but the thing that was more impressive to me was the execution of the pitches and the fact that he was on the plate," Shelton said. "It really doesn’t matter how hard anybody throws the ball. You have to execute pitches on the plate, and he did that today. Really, really happy with where he was at.”
The right-hander, who had a 6.17 ERA across 23 starts last season, is one of several Pirates competing for a spot in the starting rotation. Even with his uneven results since debuting, Keller, the 64th overall pick in the 2014 Draft, was a strong candidate to make the starting five. Keller’s aim isn’t solely to crack the starting rotation, but to be in the starting lineup come Opening Day. If healthy and productive, the spot is certainly open.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t [hoping to start Opening Day],” Keller said.