On the good side of things, Pittsburgh Pirates ' ace Mitch Keller tossed four solid innings in spring training on Wednesday.
On the down side of things, Keller's velocity was down - only sitting at a pedestrian 90-92 mph. However, Keller himself said he's not worried about the velocity dip and that he was working more on the feel of his pitches.
Per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com:
Keller's not concerned about the velo. He thinks that extra speed comes with the intensity of games that count and adrenaline. Focus right now is refining pitches and making sure everything feels good. "I'm not really too worried about it at all. I know it's in the tank."
That's certainly good news for Pittsburgh, who is counting on Keller to be the ace of their rotation. Not only is he their most high-upside starter, they just gave him a five-year contract extension worth more than $70 million. They've already announced that he will be the starting pitcher on Opening Day against the Marlins (March 28).
The 27-year-old Keller is coming off a breakout season in 2023 for the Pirates. He was 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA and made his first All-Star game. He also struck out 210 batters in just in 194.1 innings.
Lifetime, he's 25-38 over five years in the big leagues - all with Pittsburgh.
With Keller as the anchor of the rotation, Pittsburgh will also have veterans Marco Gonzales and Martin Perez. Top pitching prospect Paul Skenes will start the year in the minors but could make his debut this year.
More must-reads: