Below Deck: No. 2 prospect Keller sticks to plan in rehab start

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mitch Keller did not intend to use his rehab start at Monongalia County Ballpark Monday night to ensure he was healthy.

The right-handed starting pitcher was confident the lower-back tightness that landed him on the disabled list would not be an issue.

That meant he could get re-acclimated by following the same strategy that has made him so successful over the past year: Pepper the strike zone with fastballs and mix in his two breaking pitches when needed.

The Pirates' No. 2 prospect did so flawlessly, striking out four and allowing one hit for the short-season West Virginia Black Bears in a 3-0 win over Mahoning Valley.



"The game plan was to get ahead, stay ahead," Keller explained afterward. "Compete with fastballs and if they showed anything else just put them away (with breaking pitches). ... It was mainly pounding the zone and doing what I do."

He was tested quickly. After getting the first hitter to send a weak popup to him, Keller got ahead of Oscar Gonzalez 1-2 with back-to-back fastballs.

Gonzalez then fouled off three consecutive fastballs before Keller struck him out with a curveball. It was the type of breaking-ball command the 21-year-old showed during his six healthy starts with High-A Bradenton this season.

He was unable to do so in his seventh start, though.

Keller, who was named the Pirates' minor league pitcher of the year last season after an injury-plagued 2015, was warming up for his start against Jupiter on May 10 when he experienced a pain in his lower back. He didn't think much of it and chose to not tell anyone about it.

A second-round draft pick in 2014 from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Keller was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, and hoped rest would be enough to heal the problem. Six days later, he was pulled after one inning and allowing two runs.

He could not keep quiet any longer.

The diagnosis was simple lower-back tightness, and a decision was made to shut him down.

"It was pretty frustrating," Keller said. "I just kind of did it in the bullpen warming up. It’s just frustrating because it wasn’t even during the game. That made it more frustrating to deal with. I’ve kind of learned how to channel those emotions and bring them out here."

Keller was 3-2 with the Marauders, carrying a 2.93 ERA in 40 innings with 39 strikeouts and eight walks. He had a streak of 18 2/3 scoreless innings, including back-to-back seven-shutout-inning starts, before the setback occurred.

Since being placed on the disabled list May 26, Keller has worked on strengthening his core and resting his back. A more patient approach with the injury had him feeling ready for a return to the pitcher's mound.

While some players are hesitant during a rehab assignment, Keller wanted to maximize his two innings. He threw 21 of 30 pitches for strikes and allowed one hit, a liner to left-center field in the second inning.

After the hit, Keller got a strikeout on five pitches to end his start.

"For a young kid to go out on a rehab assignment like this, the one thing we wanted him to focus on was not on how you feel, but this was an opportunity to go out there, compete, use your stuff and challenge hitters, and actually attack the strike zone and have a plan going out there," West Virginia manager Brian Esposito said. "That’s something different than what you see from big-leaguers rehabbing. ... He did a good job of going out there looking to attack the strike zone. We had a plan of getting guys out with three pitches or less. He went out there and did what he had to do."

Keller did not experience any discomfort in his lower back, and showed why he's the top pitching prospect in the organization. His fastball velocity was in the mid-90s with movement tailing outside to right-handers and inside to left-handers.

He also was able to use a curveball that broke low in the zone, and a changeup that is becoming a reliable weapon. That pitch became a focus for Keller after 2016 — a season where he had a 2.35 ERA in 24 regular-season starts with the West Virginia Power and helped Bradenton win the Florida State League title.

"It was coming along nicely," Keller said. "That’s probably the best I’ve felt with it my whole career. To come here and throw a few of those was good."

His breakout season made him the No. 40 prospect in all of baseball, and MLB.com's Jim Callis said Keller has the potential to be a frontline starter if he fulfills his potential. Keller is not concerned about such projections or hype, though.

Though Esposito declined to specify the next step in the starter's rehab plan, Keller said he will start for the Black Bears on Saturday at Batavia. He was unsure how many innings that will be, but he made it clear he is ready to return to Bradenton as soon as possible to win another championship and continue his trek through the organization.

"I’m anxious to get back in Bradenton and play with them again," Keller said. "They’re hunting for a playoff spot. I think the second half will be huge for us when I get there."

INDIANAPOLIS UPDATE

• Steven Brault's impressive season continues. The 25-year-old left-handed starter allowed two runs and struck out three in six innings Saturday at Charlotte, and his 2.18 ERA is the second-lowest in the International League.

• Nick Kingham made his seventh minor-league start of the season Thursday, allowing three runs and striking out four in five innings. Six of his seven starts have come for Indianapolis, and he owns a 4.17 ERA and 1.31 WHIP with 28 strikeouts and 12 walks.

The 25-year-old is working his way back up through the system after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and the organization's focus is to get him a volume of starts to see how he responds.

• The Tyler Glasnow experiment with the Pirates was a failure through 13 starts this season, as he had a 2-6 record with a 7.45 ERA and 1.91.

He was sent back to Triple-A last Saturday and thrived in his first start, striking out eight and allowing two hits in six innings, though he walked four.

• The Pirates' front office likely breathed a collective sigh of relief Sunday when Austin Meadows returned to the field after being hit by a pitch on his hand three days earlier.

The top outfield prospect missed two games and returned to go 0 for 5. He's batting .220 over his last 10 games with one home run and 7 RBI.

ALTOONA ALERT

• Shortstop Kevin Newman is struggling in his second season at Double-A. He batted .366 in 41 games for Bradenton last season and finished the year with Altoona, slashing .288/.361/.378 in 61 games.

That success has not carried over into 2017, though, as he was batting .235 entering Monday and .189 over his past 10 games.

A first-round pick in 2015, he has two home runs and 17 RBI in 56 games.

• Third baseman Kevin Kramer isn't having much luck either as of late. He's batting just .197 over his last 10 games, dropping his average to .297 for the season. He has shown more pop than Newman with six home runs and 27 RBI, but has struck out 50 times in 202 at-bats.

BRADENTON BULLETIN

• Right-handed pitcher Brandon Cumpton made his major-league debut in 2013, starting five games for the Pirates that season and 10 more in 2014, carrying a 4.02 ERA and 1.301 WHIP in 15 starts and 22 appearances.

But he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 and missed all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He returned to the mound early this month as he tries to work his way back to the major leagues.

Now 28 years old, Cumpton has made three appearances with the Marauders, allowing three runs in six innings and striking out five with three walks.

• The spotlight was on the Pirates' most recent first-round pick last week, starting pitcher Shane Baz, but their first rounder from last season is quietly putting together a solid season in Bradenton.

First baseman Will Craig is batting .371 over his last 10 games with one home run and six RBI, and is slashing .288/.393/.432 this season with five home runs and 33 RBI.

• Left-handed starting pitcher Taylor Hearn had an excellent start against Jupiter on May 27, throwing seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, but he has struggled since.

Hearn, who was acquired from the Nationals with Felipe Rivero for Mark Melancon last August, has allowed nine runs in 15 innings over his last three starts.