Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller dominated the New York Mets in Monday's start, logging a quality start with six strikeouts over eight innings. Keller allowed two runs, a two-run home run off the bat of Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo, but that didn't prevent him from picking up his 10th win of the year. The 28-year-old right-hander is as steady as they come for fantasy managers, posting a 3.40 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 102 punchouts and 27 walks over 111 1/3 frames (18 starts) for the Pirates this season. Keller is lined up to take the ball one more time before the All-Star break, which is scheduled for Saturday's favorable matchup with the last-place Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller threw six innings of one-run ball in Saturday's 8-1 victory over the Blue Jays. The righty allowed just five hits and a walk while striking out eight. The outing marked his fifth straight quality start, going 5-0 with a 1.34 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and a 16.7% K-BB% over that stretch. The former second-round draft pick is having a solid season overall as well, going 7-3 with a 3.42 ERA (3.47 FIP), 1.22 WHIP, and a 66:20 K:BB over 12 starts (73 2/3 IP). The 28-year-old will look to keep rolling when he toes the rubber against the Twins in his next start at home on Friday.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller picked up his fourth straight quality start in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Braves. Keller pitched six-and-two-thirds innings of one-run ball, scattering six hits and striking out four batters while walking none. The outing lowered his season ERA to 3.59 (3.67 FIP) and the righty's WHIP now stands at 1.24. The former second-round draft pick isn't striking out as many batters as we're used to seeing (20.2% K%), but he's also reduced his HR/FB% to a career-low of 8.5% through 11 starts which has helped limit damage. The win was his sixth of the season, and hopefully he can sustain this success throughout the year, as last season he faded in the second half (first half 3.31 ERA, .278 wOBA vs. second half 5.59 ERA, .355 wOBA).
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller was sensational in Monday's 4-1 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Angels, tossing nine innings of one-run ball on five hits (one home run) and one walk while striking out five en route to a complete-game win. Other than Zach Neto's solo shot in the sixth inning, Keller kept Anaheim's bats quiet all evening for easily his most impressive start of the 2024 regular season. Entering the day with a rocky 5.18 ERA, Keller improved it to a 4.43 ERA to go with a 1.33 WHIP and 44:16 K:BB over 49 frames (eight starts) for the Pirates this year. The 28-year-old right-hander aims to build on this effort in Sunday's series finale at home versus the Chicago Cubs for his next scheduled start, where he'll be a hit-or-miss fantasy bet. Keller fired eight scoreless innings in one of his two starts against the Cubs last year, but he gave up seven runs in his other appearance versus Chicago.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller will look to keep up the good work in a Saturday outing versus the visiting Boston Red Sox. After allowing four earned runs in each of his first two starts of the season, the 28-year-old has allowed just two earned runs in each of his last two starts and 13 innings of work. He has 13 strikeouts against just four walks in that time and did not walk a batter across seven innings his last time out. Fantasy managers should certainly be encouraged by his start to the season, even if his 19.8% K% leaves something to be desired as he posted a 25.5% K% last season alongside a healthy 18.8% K-BB%. He should see continued positive ERA regression moving forward as his 3.87 xFIP and 4.09 SIERA sit well below his 4.50 ERA on the young season.
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said that right-hander Mitch Keller will start on Opening Day on March 28 against the Marlins in Miami. This doesn't come as a surprise at all, especially after the club announced a five-year, $77 million extension with Keller earlier on Thursday. The 27-year-old was a first-time All-Star in 2023 and finished 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA (3.80 FIP) and 1.24 WHIP with 55 walks and a career-high 210 strikeouts in 194 1/3 innings over 32 starts in his fifth year in the majors. Keller was solid in the first half before sporting an ERA over 5.00 in the second half. It was nice to see Keller raise his strikeout rate last year, and his 3.70 xFIP shows that he was perhaps a little bit unlucky in the ERA department. He still has some upside, but he's best drafted as a depth arm for your fantasy rotation in the later rounds.
Mitch Keller, Pirates Agree To Five-Year Extension
Right-hander Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a five-year, $77 million contract extension on Thursday, according to sources. After a breakout season in which he struck out a career-high 210 batters, the 27-year-old Keller will anchor Pittsburgh's starting rotation for the team that drafted him in the second round in 2014 out of high school. The new deal will buy out what would have been Keller's first two years of free agency. In addition to his career-best 210 punchouts last year, Keller went 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 55 walks in 194 1/3 innings over a career-high 32 starts to garner his first All-Star nod. He was solid in the first half but fell apart after the All-Star break with a 5.59 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 13 starts down the stretch. Still, he upped his strikeout rate and isn't a bad No. 4 rotation option for fantasy managers with upside late in drafts.
A key order of business for the Pittsburgh Pirates and general manager Ben Cherington this offseason remains getting a long-term contract extension done with right-hander Mitch Keller. Contract-extension talks gained traction during the middle of last season, but the up-and-down nature of Keller's performance mixed with business led both sides to pause talks until this offseason. The Pirates view Keller, who is entering his second year of arbitration, as someone the would like to give a contract extension to. "We appreciate a lot about who he is," Cherington said of Keller. "He's one of the guys who checks a lot of boxes. He's a guy we would love to see in a Pirates uniform for a long time. We'll see how that plays out." The 27-year-old was a first-time All-Star in 2023 and went 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA (3.80 FIP), 1.24 WHIP, 55 walks and a career-high 210 K's in 194 1/3 innings over 32 starts.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller will not make his final start of the season on Sunday against the Miami Marlins. The Pirates aren't playing for anything and Keller has already thrown a career-high 194 1/3 innings in his fifth major-league season. The 27-year-old made the All-Star team for the first time in his career in 2023 and finishes with a 13-9 record, 4.21 ERA (3.80 FIP), 1.24 WHIP, 55 walks and a career-high 210 strikeouts in his 32 starts. Keller wasn't as sharp in the second half of the season, though, posting a 5.59 ERA with 21 walks and 81 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings over 13 starts after the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller threw eight two-hit innings with one walk and seven strikeouts for his 12th win of the year in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Washington Nationals. The 27-year-old needed a boost in the worst way after being shredded for eight runs allowed on three separate occasions post-All-Star break. Keller navigated through the contact-based Nats lineup with relative ease, keeping loud contact at a minimum. The right-hander came out of the game at 92 pitches after the eighth inning for closer David Bednar to shut it down. Keller has endured a tumultuous year, but the 2023 All-Star has been the closest piece of stability in Pittsburgh's shaky rotation with a 4.04 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 198:52 K:BB in 182 2/3 frames. Next up are the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
