Coming into this year, Mitch Keller said it was "now or never" to prove he was a big-league starter.
It took some experimentation, a new pitch (sinker), adopting a sweeper instead of his normal slider, and a midseason reboot to the bullpen, but he unquestionably showed that he is a major-leaguer, leading the team with 159 innings pitched and a 3.91 ERA. Over the second half of the season, starting in July when all of those new tools were in place, he had a 2.93 ERA.
Now the question becomes can he take that next step and be the guy.
I proposed that to pitching coach Oscar Marin. If he is your opening day starter next year and the de facto ace, can he lead a rotation?
"I definitely feel comfortable with that," Marin told me in the dugout a few hours before the final game of the season Wednesday. "I think Mitch needs to just continue what Mitch has been doing. One of those things is working to be the consistent guy he has become."
Last year, Keller focused on finding his velocity again. This winter, he can focus on continuing to be a more complete pitcher, which could include bringing back his gyro-spin slider as an intermediary pitch for his fastball and breaking stuff, and continuing to sharpen both fastballs.
Marin was looking for someone who can carry the "torch" as a leader after José Quintana was traded, and Keller was someone who did that over the final two months. With the way he carries himself in the clubhouse now, Marin thinks he can be a leader as well as a good pitcher.
"We couldn't be prouder of this individual, this man, for what he's gone through and where he's at," Marin said. "That hits heavy in my heart because you know what he's been through and this year for him. You see him walking around. You think he's the same guy? Hell no, he's not the same guy. He's a different son of a gun. That alone carries a lot of weight in our clubhouse."
MORE PIRATES
2. Quintana, the ex-Pirate and Cardinals' Game 1 starter, didn't just bring his equipment and toothbrush from St. Louis for the final regular-season road trip this week. He also came with a "nice little" (Marin's words) bottle of tequila for his former pitching coach as a thank you for everything he did in Pittsburgh. Marin was appreciative too, since Quintana was usually the guy he would go to to nudge a player if they were down or unsure about whether they wanted to try something out. There's a lot of mutual respect there. -- Stumpf
3. Ben Cherington hinted on his final radio show on 93.7 The Fan Sunday that the Pirates could expand their coaching staff this winter. I asked Marin if he would like to expand the pitching-coach team to get a feel for where those additions could be. He said he's always looking for more from the analytics side, but that the team they've built on the pitching side covers what they are looking to do, whether it's strategy to video to helping mechanically. If there are additions to the staff, I would suspect they are going to be more for the offense. -- Stumpf
4. During the locker clear-out after Sunday's game, I caught Diego Castillo at his locker, shook his hand and said congrats on no longer being a rookie. He chuckled for a bit, but with full earnestness told me, "I'm going to be better next year." I believe him. -- Stumpf
PENGUINS
5. Going into last season Jason Zucker said he wanted to get back to his game and shoot the puck more. He did just that, getting his shot frequency — and quality — back to the levels he was at in his time with the Wild. The problem is that the puck was going in the net for him at the second lowest rate of his career. I asked Zucker if that had anything to do with his injuries, a change in his mechanics, being unlucky, or perhaps a combination. "There’s years that it just goes in and years it doesn’t," he said. "Last year was one that I think I played a lot better than the points showed. I think I did a lot more things than what the points showed. But again, that’s the way it is. It’s a tough game and you just gotta keep going, keep grinding and get back after it." -- Danny Shirey in Cranberry, Pa.
6. Zucker also told me his body is continuing to feel pretty good through several weeks of camp and three preseason games. It’s been noticeable, too, as his skating stride and fluidity is miles better than what it looked like during the postseason in May. -- Shirey
7. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Radim Zohorna ends up back in the Penguins' organization. The Flames are carrying 14 forwards right now and none of their current depth options are exempt from waivers. They have their own tough decision to make. When multiple teams put in a waiver claim for a player this time of year, the team with the worst spot in last season's standings gets him. Given that Calgary finished sixth in the league last season, it seems likely that they were the only team to attempt to claim Zohorna. If he's the odd man out in Calgary too, and they try to put him on waivers, the Penguins can reclaim Zohorna and put him in Wilkes-Barre. The Penguins have only lost two other players to waivers in the last four years -- Jean-Sebastien Dea to the Devils in 2018 and Stefan Noesen to the Sharks in 2019. Dea spent two months in New Jersey before being waived again, and the Penguins reclaimed him and put him in Wilkes-Barre. It's not something that's unheard of. -- Taylor Haase in Cranberry, Pa.
8. With Filip Lindberg's brief recall to Pittsburgh seemingly ending, I wouldn't read too much into him being the guy called up to back up Casey DeSmith in Detroit when Tristan Jarry was sick. Dustin Tokarski is still the No. 3 to start the season. The day Jarry was sick, though, Tokarski was on waivers and wasn't a guarantee to be available to the Penguins that night in Detroit. And with it still being training camp, the recall allowed Lindberg the opportunity to come up and get some extra practice time with Pittsburgh's players and staff without missing anything major in Wilkes-Barre. -- Haase
9. Some goalies are really particular about the designs for their pads and mask each season. Some aren't. Lindberg is still wearing last season's mask right now, and he told me earlier this week that he's still waiting on his new one to come in. What's on it? He has no idea. He's working with popular goalie mask designer David Gunnarsson (known as DaveArt), and the only guideline Lindberg gave him was with the lettering he wants somewhere on the mask, no input other than that. -- Haase
10. I continue to be struck by how much Sam Poulin has grown, not just from this time last year, but also from the second half of last year's AHL season. He's been the biggest pleasant surprise for me this camp. Even in talking with him, he sounds so much more confident than he did in the number of times we spoke over the course of last season. He's ready to be here and he knows it. -- Haase
11. Poulin, unsurprisingly, hasn’t had a discussion with the coaches or management one way or the other as to how serious his chances are of making the team out of camp, but it says quite a bit that he has stuck around to this point. He is absolutely going to make his NHL debut this season, regardless of making the team right away. One thing that has helped him stay around this long is an aggressiveness to shoot the puck. Poulin is feeling increasingly more comfortable while shooting at this level, especially in traffic and tight spaces. "I know that at this level there’s not as much time as there was in the AHL or junior, so you gotta be quick and make good decisions," he told me. -- Shirey
12. Dumoulin and Petry took to the ice after practice for some individual skating work earlier this week. That would be their sons, Brayden Dumoulin and Bowen Petry, both just about three years old. It's just cool to see players' kids become good friends and spend time at the rink together too. -- Haase
13. The morning playlist that plays in the locker room after practices has the wildest collection of songs, from Billy Joel's Piano Man, to Britney Spears' Oops!...I Did It Again, plus some NSYNC and a lot of Chris Stapleton and a couple of Uncle Kracker hits. There's something for everyone. -- Haase
STEELERS
14. The Steelers are expecting a lot from Kenny Pickett, and why shouldn't they? There is a renewed buzz from within the locker room regarding the rookie and his demeanor, and specifically from him playing with a certain attitude that was lacking with Mitch Trubisky under center. I got some input from fellow rookie Jaylen Warren about sharing the field with Pickett, and he gave this context from within the huddle:
"Yeah, he has some swag to him. He has some swag to him for sure," Warren said. "You get in the huddle and you can enter the huddle all droopy and like, 'Ah, I don't want to do this,' but once you get out of the huddle you're fired up, like, you don't know what he said -- I mean players always say it -- but from the outside looking in you're like, 'Oh, you look ready to go. Wonder what happened in that huddle.' But he's vocal. He's going to let you know what to do, how to do it, when to do it." -- Corey Crisan on the South Side
15. That factor stands out to players, especially in situations like the Steelers were in on Sunday against the Jets.
"I think that's a huge factor," Warren said. "That component is really ... energy is definitely contagious. But when he comes in and lays it down like that, you're like, 'OK, we've got to play for this dude.'" -- Crisan
16. A lot of questions are circling around who will be available within the Steelers' secondary come Sunday. The team's five top defensive backs were listed on Thursday's injury report -- Akhello Witherspoon did not practice because of a hamstring issue, and Cam Sutton (groin/hamstring), Terrell Edmunds (concussion), Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee), and Levi Wallace (foot) were all limited on Thursday.
I asked Arthur Maulet about the challenge in trying to fill the voids against an offense as potent as Buffalo's:
"I think we're in a good spot," Maulet told me. "One thing about it, and one thing the coaches preach, is there should be no drop off (with) whoever's in the game. It's all about executing the scheme, and I think we have a pretty good scheme going into this week. I think we'll be fine." -- Crisan
17. I'm speaking as a football fan here -- Buffalo is an awesome place to watch a football game, and all that you hear from and read about regarding "Bills Mafia" is absolutely true. I've taken in a few games at New Era Field, and it's a LOUD and unique place to play football. Bills Mafia, of course, is notorious for its fans going through tables in the tailgate lot (I haven't taken in this experience, thankfully), and for the trademark "Zubaz" pants while spilling a Labatt Blue or two all over the parking lot.
This, obviously, goes against the grain in terms of the Steelers playing a game in that stadium. When I asked Chase Claypool's thoughts about going to Western New York again, he didn't seem fazed:
"I think we like playing in hostile environments," he said. "I think all football players do. I think that's going to raise our level of intensity, and I think it's going to allow us to get ready to play quicker in terms of knowing we're going into that environment." -- Crisan
18. Will Claypool go through a table if the Steelers win on Sunday?
"Yeah, I'll go through a table," he told me. -- Crisan
19. The Guardian caps attracted some attention throughout training camp and the preseason. They were required during practice by the NFL through camp and the first two preseason games, but some players have stuck with them since then. During Wednesday’s practice, every player on the Steelers, except the quarterbacks, wore the Guardian caps during the padded session. I double checked with multiple team officials and they didn’t know anything about the NFL mandating them during practice. Mason Cole confirmed with me that Mike Tomlin requires them during padded practices. “He’s just looking out for us,” he told me. Given what recently happened with Tua Tagovailoa, head injuries are at the forefront of everyone’s minds right now. -- Chris Halicke on the South Side
20. I detailed Thursday how the defense is looking to clean up some of the small errors that have caused big problems late in games. During my conversation with Myles Jack, he stressed how the defense has really made it a point of emphasis to streamline communication during film sessions throughout the entire defense, not just the individual groups. The coaches and players on this defense really believe the early season struggles late in games comes down to the unit still going through the gelling process. But, they feel like they are close to turning it around, especially in the fourth quarter. He told me, “Coach (Teryl Austin) has got some things that are gonna clear that up. It’s gonna be cool to see this week.” -- Halicke
21. During the early portions of practice, players get loose and run some light individual drills before ramping it up for the heavy portion of practice. As I was making my rounds from one field to another, Zach Gentry glanced over at me walking past and did a clear and obvious double take at my shirt. For those who might have caught it when I answer Live Qs at 5, I was wearing the same “Cones of Dunshire” shirt from my Live Qs picture. For those who might not know, 'Cones of Dunshire' is a fictional board game from the show Parks and Recreation. I went up to Gentry in the locker room after practice and asked him if he liked the show. “Oh yeah, for sure. I was hesitant at first because I was such a huge fan of The Office. But it’s definitely one of my favorites.” -- Halicke
