Mitch Keller takes confident step toward becoming leader for Pirates

Mitch Keller arrived at spring training a year ago fighting for a spot in the starting rotation, missed six weeks with an oblique injury and ended the season throwing 11 consecutive hitless innings over his final two starts.

If that sounds like a dramatic change, it’s nothing compared to the turnover this offseason for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After trading their past two Opening Day starters, the Pirates are looking to Keller to become the anchor of their pitching staff and a cornerstone piece of a rebuild that could be years in the making.

“I know Pittsburgh fans might think that we’re trading everyone away, but I think it’s pretty exciting what we’ve got going on here,” Keller said. “We’re excited for this journey and to bring this back to a winning ballclub again.”

On the first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers Wednesday at Pirate City, which was shortened by rain in Bradenton, Fla., Keller spoke with a commanding confidence. The third-year right-hander no longer has Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon or Trevor Williams to learn from and lean on as he did in his first two seasons in the majors.

Keller has pitched all of 69 2/3 innings, going 2-6 with a 5.81 ERA in 16 career starts, but the Pirates are impressed with his nasty stuff and even more so with his mental makeup. They see him as a potential top-of-the-rotation pitcher and, along with third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, a building block for the future. They have told him as much, urging Keller to take a bold step into a leadership role even though he is the youngest starter on the staff.

“They’re really excited to see me grow, and they let me know that they’re going to push me to grow even farther because they know the capabilities that I have,” Keller said. “That’s exciting for me to hear that. Just want me to be a leader, in a way, even though I’m still really young and haven’t had that many years in the big leagues. But they do want me to step into that leader role and be that kind of guy that people look up to and we build around.”

Keller took a big step forward upon returning from the injured list, holding opposing batters to an .049 average, four earned runs and two hits over his final three starts. He gave up more walks (10) than he had strikeouts (nine) in his last two starts but didn’t allow a hit in six innings against St. Louis or five at Cleveland.

“He finished the year on a really strong note, as you guys pointed out to me numerous times (after) I pulled him out of two games where he had no-hitters late in the year,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think he’s definitely growing into that. The leadership thing will be something that if he wants to take, or the club kind of anoints him to that, that’ll happen organically over time.”

For now, Keller vowed to work hard and bring a positive attitude to the clubhouse and practice field this spring, traits he learned from Taillon. Keller’s increased confidence hasn’t gone unnoticed by teammates, as left-hander Steven Brault sees Keller finding his footing while growing into a key player.

“I think you see a consistency — the feeling of you belong here and you’ve gotten these guys out before, you can get ’em out again,” Brault said. “That’s something that comes with time for everybody. I think that Mitch is definitely there. Mitch is going to be one of the leaders. He’s going to be a very good pitcher. We all know that. We’re excited to watch him pitch and be there with him. He seems like one of those guys who can be pretty special, so I’m excited to watch him.”

Where the outgoing Brault described himself as a “silent leader” who isn’t the rah-rah type, he wondered aloud whether Keller would become more vocal, given his inexperience and soft-spoken nature.

“If Mitch Keller wants to get in front of the team and talk to the team as a group, I would find that absolutely hilarious because I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speak more than like 12 words at a time,” Brault said. “So that would be exciting. He’s a good leader. He’s just a more of quiet guy. I think that’s going to be how it is. The younger guys are now the older guys in this clubhouse. That’s just how it is. That’s how it works. Mitch is now all of a sudden one of the older people on the team. He’s like, what, 24 or 25?”

Keller, who turns 25 on April 4, spent the offseason working on his mechanics, getting velocity back to the mid-90s, fine-tuning his curveball and changeup and concentrating on throwing free and easy.

Ready or not, Keller knows the Pirates are pinning their hopes on him, even as they are projected to lose 100-plus games this season. The front office and coaching staff have been transparent in telling him as much, and he has embraced that he will be a veteran when the prospects the Pirates got in the Musgrove, Taillon and Josh Bell trades reach the majors and the club is ready to contend.

“Yeah I think we have goals here in 2021. We all want to progress and get better,” Keller said. “But the goal is championships, whether that’s this year, next year, two years, three years down the road. Whatever it is, we’re all building towards that. …

“When (the Pirates) come out and say that (they are building around a young core), I think it’s kind of not obvious but we know as players who they’re talking about. I think our young core here has really taken that to the next level of, ‘All right, we’re the group and we need to get all these guys rallied around us and do something special here.’ Because I hate losing and I know they hate losing. It’s time to really start something here. I think we’re excited with who we have to take us forward.”