S. Samek
Someone we follow a lot on this blog is Mitch Keller, the at the moment number one ranked prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization.
He has had that title for a while, as he has been rising in the system sense his second round drafting in 2014.
This season through 10 starts hes 5-1 with a 3.40 era in 53 inning pitched. He has struck out 61 and walked 22 with hitters at .253 against him average-wise. Maybe the numbers don’t look dominant, but those are still solid and consistent numbers, plus winning games is always a good thing.
The majors finally called on May 27,2019 against Cincinnati.
The first inning was awful. He gave up six runs. The he shut down the Red for three more innings with seven strikeouts against two walks.
A mixed bag of a start if you ask me. Like the first inning is a very much welcome to the show shelling of a rookie pitcher. Then to shut it down and limit the damage I think shows a real mature approach to bounce back after a slow start. Granted Cincinnati doesn’t have the most dangerous line-up,but does have a hitter friendly yard. Could have been a lot worse with baseballs leaving the yard.
So while the start was ok, it showed Keller still has a bit to improve on. Yet I tdon’t think we have seen the last of him this season. I expect to see him back in September as a call-up.