Ask just about any player in the Pirates' clubhouse about Mitch Keller and what makes him special on the mound, and each will likely provide a different answer. Whether it's his ability to use his entire six-pitch arsenal to carve through opposing lineups, or the way he's able to overcome inevitable rough nights like the one he had in the Pirates' 7-4 loss to the Cardinals Tuesday night at PNC Park, Keller has cemented himself as a pitcher worth getting behind in the best and worst of times.
“How he’s got there, it’s been a lot of ups and downs," Derek Shelton said prior to Tuesday's game. "I think what we’ve seen is Mitch grow mentally to be able to handle when things go bad, he doesn’t let it spiral. He learned those lessons the hard way. He learned those lessons by being optioned to Indy, by being in the bullpen, by throwing shorter starts, by us limiting his starts. So he learned them the hard way and I think what we’re seeing is the benefit of that because of the fact that mentally, he’s strong enough to know that all he’s got to focus on is the next pitch.”
Keller's mental fortitude will once again be tested when he returns to the mound for his next start, as he'll look to turn the page on this particular outing in which he allowed a season-high six runs (five earned) on another season-high nine hits in a 48th straight start of at least five innings, a streak that sits tied for the third-longest in franchise history.
Two homers made the biggest difference in Keller's rare poor performance, as Alec Burleson put the Cardinals ahead with a two-run shot in the third and Nolan Gorman made the lead insurmountable with a grand slam in the fourth. Keller said he felt as if he executed well throughout a night in which he threw 70 of 99 pitches for strikes. He wasn't displeased with the 3-2 fastball he threw up and out of the zone to Burleson and he tipped his cap to Gorman, who sent a 1-2 sweeper on the outer third over the wall near the notch in left-center field.
Regardless of the final results and the less-than-desirable look of the line score, there isn't a lack confidence in Keller's ability to bounce back, especially considering he carried nine wins, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP into this 17th start of the season. Keller's been through worse outings and has faced tougher times over the course of his short, yet eventful career. If he can get through those, he can certainly respond in a positive way next time out, right?
"That (confidence) doesn't waver at all," Jack Suwinski said. "That's our horse right there and he's going to come back tomorrow, go over the game a little bit and be ready for the next one."
Jared Jones, one of the young stud arms Keller gets to share a rotation with, doesn't disagree.
"I feel like almost every pitcher ever has a bad outing," said Jones, who has overcome rough outings of his own, despite his overall first-year success at the big-league level. "He's got a really good head on his shoulders. I think he's going to come back and shove his next outing."
In addition to the mental strength and maturity Keller has benefitted from over the years, his stuff is pretty good, too. And the way he uses every pitch in his expansive arsenal stands out in the eyes of Yasmani Grandal.
When he began working with Keller for the first time this spring, Grandal had an idea of what he wanted to see him do to take things to another level after being named an All-Star in 2023. Grandal had more than a few discussions with Keller regarding the different pitches in his arsenal, how they play off each other and how the pair could use them in order to effectively implement the other weapons he possesses.
“He’s pretty well-rounded and has a big-time arsenal that he’s worked on the past two, three years," Grandal told me Tuesday. "We’ve just exploited that arsenal. We’ve made him use things he hasn’t used before ... He’s not just a one-trick pony. Last year, it was all about the cutter, and this year it’s about all his pitches. I always felt like that’s one of the ways to get a guy over that hump, by pretty much using every pitch he’s got.”
The fastball is still Keller's most utilized weapon, as evidenced in his over 30% usage of the pitch compared to 26.1% last season. But as Grandal said, he's no one-trick pony. When Keller has been at his best, he's found ways to implement and find success with his other pitches: sinker (22.8% usage), sweeper (13.9%), cutter (13.5%), curveball (9.6%) and slider (9.3%).
Every game is different, including this particular outing in which he leaned heavily on 41% fastballs and a 20% usage of the curveball. Keller admitted to feeling good about the latter pitch as of late, so no reason not to turn to it more. He even said he should have utilized more cutters and two-seams. And, hard to believe, but he turned to the sinker -- his second-most utilized pitch this season -- on just nine occasions.
If one particular pitch isn't working, Keller has options. And if he needs a pitch to go off the fastball and keep hitters off balance, he has weapons to use. On this night, things just didn't go his way.
"I think that's one of my strengths as a pitcher, is just to be able to use all six pitches," Keller said. "Really use them all to mix and try and keep hitters off balance. They just weren't off balance today."
Still, Keller's responsibility as a top-of-the-rotation starter goes far beyond his ability to fool opposing hitters with the pitches he has at his disposal and the mental strength he possesses when attempting to flush away a lackluster night.
He's only 28 years old and is only in his fourth full major-league season, but Keller fulfills an important role as a leader for the young players on the roster, including a guy who has quickly established himself as one of the must-see attractions in all of baseball.
“The way he sticks to his process and the stubbornness, I guess, to get off of it," Paul Skenes said when asked about what makes Keller special. "When you have something you can fall back on, good or bad results, in terms of your process, that’s always a good thing. He’s developed a really good process over the years to allow him to be healthy and successful.
“Being through it all and seeing every part of this game in his short career, that’s a guy we can really take some wisdom from.”
And, even though this night's final line is one Keller would like to forget, he's proven time and time again -- and in more ways than one -- that he's a guy worth getting and staying behind in the best and worst of times.
