Mitch Keller will start Grapefruit League opener for Pirates, a reunion for Derek Shelton
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton doesn’t want to take too much credit for naming Mitch Keller the starting pitcher for Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Minnesota Twins at LECOM Park.
“It’s the rotation of where Oscar has him slated,” Shelton said of pitching coach Oscar Marin. “So, basically, Oscar told me that’s where he’s going, so I’m telling you guys.”
While the announcement doesn’t have the cachet of being named the starter for Opening Day or the home opener, it is a positive sign for Keller that the Pirates want to get an early look at their top pitching prospect this spring.
“There really wasn’t anything crazy about it or elaborate,” said Keller, who expects to pitch only an inning or two. “It’s cool to know I got the first one. I’ll just build off that one.”
The 23-year-old right-hander was 1-5 with a 7.13 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in 11 starts last season. He also led the starting rotation with an average of 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings said Keller was “impressive” in throwing his first live batting practice Tuesday, and Pirates coaches have complimented how his curveball and slider look in his second major-league training camp.
Keller struggled last spring, when he was 0-1 with a 22.50 ERA and 3.25 WHIP after allowing 10 runs (all earned), including three home runs, in four innings. He started the season in Triple-A Indianapolis before a Memorial Day call-up, when he gave up six runs in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds.
“I’ve felt really good so far through spring — way better than last year — so I’m excited for this first game to just see where I’m at,” Keller said. “I felt really good against our own guys, whether they were tracking or swinging. My stuff felt really good coming out of the hand, and I was throwing everything for strikes, too, so I felt really good.”
Shelton
The Grapefruit League opener against Minnesota also represents a reunion of sorts for Shelton, who served as the Twins bench coach the past two seasons. Last season, Shelton worked alongside Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who played and coached in Tampa Bay when Shelton was the Rays’ hitting coach.
“It’s going to be great. It’s going to be different,” Shelton said. “I think it’s very well-documented that he’s one of my closest friends. I’ve talked to him a ton throughout spring training. It’ll be the first time I haven’t talked to him. He’s pretty much texted me or called me every day.
“It’s going to be nice to see him. There’s a bunch of people in that dugout and in that organization that are special to me, so to be able to see them and to be able to see them right off the bat is kind of cool.”
It also isn’t lost on Shelton the baseball gods were good to him with the schedule. The Pirates play Tampa Bay, where he spent seven seasons as hitting coach, March 5 in Port Charlotte and open the season at the Rays.
“It’s a little strange that we’re playing Minnesota to start and then we’re going to Tampa,” Shelton said. “I don’t think the schedule makers — if they foresaw me getting this job and did it that way, then kudos to them. It’s one of those coincidences that make those days a little bit cooler for me personally.”
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Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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