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Pirates Promote Mitch Keller to Bradenton

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting right-handed pitcher Mitch Keller to Bradenton, Pirates Prospects has learned. Keller is flying down to Bradenton to join the team tomorrow, and should make his High-A debut early next week. He was originally scheduled to start on Tuesday in West Virginia, although they are off on Monday, which is his normal five-day schedule. So he should start one of those two days for Bradenton.

Keller was having an impressive season in West Virginia, posting a 2.46 ERA in 124.1 innings, with a 131:18 K/BB ratio. He has been on fire in his last four starts, with 23 shutout innings, and a 28:4 K/BB ratio. I saw him a few weeks ago for one of those starts, and he was sitting 94-97 MPH, which is a range he has been in for the last month now. After seeing his progress, I wrote that he looks more advanced than Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon looked at the same level when they came through the system.

By moving him up now, the Pirates can get Keller some extra starts and some playoff experience, with Bradenton currently locked in to the post-season and West Virginia all but eliminated from the playoffs. Keller is showing no signs of slowing down late in the season, so getting him that extra experience makes sense right now.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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