SEATTLE -- As Mitch Keller pitched against the Cubs on May 18, 2022, an unflattering graphic flashed on the broadcast screen. YouTube had the streaming rights for the game, and the big news of the day was that Keller was going to pitch out of the bullpen for the first time in his career after a slow start to the season.
In case anyone didn't know why Keller had been demoted to the bullpen, the broadcast spelled it out:
YOUTUBE
Among pitchers with at least 45 starts since his debut year in 2019, Keller ranked dead last in winning percentage, ERA, opponent's batting average, WHIP, ERA+ and probably a few more things that they just didn't have the space for.
“I had no idea until that happened," Keller was telling me at the All-Star Game media day at T-Mobile Park. "I didn’t think I was doing that bad, but I guess I was.”
All the information was accurate, but to have your early career struggles put into such start black and white...
“A lot of people that saw that were not happy, especially my family," Keller said. "But it is what it is. The facts were the facts. I can’t really get that mad at that."
You know who also got mad? His pitching coach. Oscar Marin had seen young starters stumble to find their footing before excelling. He cited Lucas Giolito as someone who went from one of the worst pitchers, results wise, in 2019 to All-Star form.
“It p----- me the f--- off, to be honest with you," Marin told me in Arizona just before the All-Star break. "I think we all saw what Mitch is doing now, but in some way it was an animal for him, especially, to be like, ‘nah, f--- this.’ And he took it that way.”
The story of the turnaround has been told. Keller went to Tread Athletics the winter prior to regain his velocity. When he didn't have immediate results the next year, Marin and Keller developed a sinker midseason that finally brought everything together. After adding a sweeper later in the year, Keller put himself on the path to his first All-Star game this season.
It was less than 14 months ago that Keller was demoted to the bullpen. Two years ago he was demoted to Class AAA Indianapolis. And in a sport where confidence is seemingly half the battle, he had to admit that he couldn't have seen himself becoming an All-Star so quickly after those lows.
“If you would have told me when that was going on, I was just worried about making my next start, honestly," Keller said. "If I’m going to be here for my next start, perform well enough to make the next one. If you would have told me at that time if this is possible, I would have laughed. Said there’s no way.”
In the first half of the season, Keller went 9-4 with a 3.31 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 117 innings pitched. He's already just nine strikeouts away from his career high, which was set last year. He won just 12 games over his first four years.
It's clear that this is not the same Mitch Keller that was lambasted on that YouTube broadcast last May.
“We’ve spent so much time together talking about things, both on and off the field, it’s like one of my own kids making it," Derek Shelton said. "He’s been here the whole time I’ve been here. He’s been through the ups and downs. Couldn’t be more proud.”
That success hasn't changed Keller's mindset, though. In his mind, he still needs to pitch well this start to earn his next one. He hasn't had that moment where he could just exhale.
“I still haven’t felt that way, because I just don’t want that to ever happen again, so I don’t ever want to relax and feel like I’ve made it,” Keller said.
Being around Keller, though, the demeanor has completely changed. Gone is the 2021 version of himself who looked nervous and down on himself. Many of his starts this year end with a smile, even if he didn't have his best stuff that day.
Frankly, this is the Keller that many hoped for whenever he was a top prospect. The Pirates pitching prospect that actually clicked with the Pirates. For years, that was far from guaranteed. In 2019, the year Keller was promoted to the majors, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton finished in the top three of the American League Cy Young and Tyler Glasnow emerged as a top-of-the-line starter with the Rays. Pirate pitchers were only finding their best selves after they left the team.
And coming up through the minors, Keller was aware that this was happening around the league.
“Coming up, seeing all these guys struggle and go elsewhere and get better, you never think it’s going to be you," Keller said. " ‘When I come up, I’m not going to struggle.’ Then I end up struggling, so I’m like, ‘well s---, am I going to be the guy who goes somewhere else to get better, or maybe get an opportunity somewhere else?’ It’s really to just figure it out here and just be a staple in the rotation. Figure it out here so I’m not just some other story. We can do it here in Pittsburgh.”
In recent years, the trend has started to reverse. Tyler Anderson and José Quintana revived their careers in Pittsburgh, which has become a coveted spot for reclamation project pitchers.
But in Marin's eyes, Keller's the shining example of what they can do because "he's one of ours."
“The one thing he didn’t do, and the one thing we didn’t do, is we never gave up on Mitch," Marin said. "And we’re never going to.”
What about that that next step? The Pirates drafted Paul Skenes first overall in the draft Sunday, and he and Keller could potentially form a stud 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. One of the few things that could seemingly get in the way is time itself.
Keller has just two years of team control remaining, though the two sides did explore an extension during spring training and the early stages of the regular season. Those talks died down in May though and no progress has been made since then.
That doesn't mean the possibility of a long-term extension is off the table down the road. Keller is definitely on board.
"I would love to be in Pittsburgh for a long time," Keller said. "I love it. I think the core that we have coming is great. I would love to.”
Wouldn't that be quite the turn around, from being considered one of MLB's worst starters to an All-Star with a deal in place to cement him as a leader in the rotation for years to come? Imagine that happening when that graphic aired.
It caused some grief at the time. But now?
"I love that now," Keller said, smiling. "That’s cool now.”
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