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AFL LIVE: Mitch Keller and Kevin Kramer Highlight a Busy Day For the Pirates

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GLENDALE, Ariz. – You couldn’t ask for a better day to see the Pirates prospects in action in the Arizona Fall League.

Not only was top prospect Mitch Keller making the start and going four innings, but all three position players were in the lineup, and left-handed pitching prospect Taylor Hearn came on to pitch in relief. Normally when I’m covering AFL games, it feels like I’m just waiting around for a few small moments in the game when the Pirates get into action. This game felt like I was covering an actual Pirates minor league game, with action to cover all throughout the day.

It started with Keller, who gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in four innings of work. He gave up the two runs on a home run that was hit by Ronald Acuna in the third inning, with the homer carrying a bit and making it over the right field wall into the bullpen.

Keller had some control issues, but only in terms of his normal stuff. He wasn’t missing wildly, but was just missing his spots on a few pitches, including a 3-2 fastball that was too much inside, and led to his first walk of the day.

He did show comfort with the changeup, throwing the pitch a few times, and was using the curveball a good amount, not just for strikeouts, but to get strikes early. His fastball was 93-95, touching 96.

I got video of his third and fourth innings, including the home run in the third, and a few plays by the middle infield of Kevin Kramer at short, and Mitchell Tolman at second.

Taylor Hearn came on to pitch in relief, throwing two shutout innings with no hits, a walk, and a strikeout. The strikeout came on a check swing against his slider that was ruled a strike on an appeal. Hearn didn’t have his usual velocity, sitting 91-93 MPH today. He also didn’t look like he was laboring much, with an easy, effortless delivery that made it look like he was just playing a game of catch. His control wasn’t bad, so it’s possible he’s slowing it down to work on a few things while he’s here.

I got video from both innings Hearn pitched:

The offensive highlight today was Kevin Kramer, who went 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run, his first of the AFL season. Kramer also showed some skills in the field, looking surprisingly smooth at shortstop. That shouldn’t be a huge surprise, as he was drafted as a shortstop, and only moved off the position due to Kevin Newman being at the same level. He showed a tendency to make the standard plays look easy, and was impressive on the charging plays on slower rollers.

I don’t want to say that he’s got a future as a starter at the position after one game, but his bat is better than any other middle infielder in the upper levels, and it would be worth continuing this experiment beyond the AFL if it continues working like this.

Here is video of his home run:

Mitchell Tolman didn’t have the best day, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The first one was looking at a 3-2 fastball, while the other two were swinging. Logan Hill went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Here are some photos from the day:

Mitch Keller pitched four innings. Photo Credit: Tim Williams
Kevin Kramer and Mitchell Tolman made up the middle infield. Photo Credit: Tim Williams
Taylor Hearn added two innings in relief. Photo Credit: Tim Williams
Logan Hill went 0-for-3 with a walk. Photo Credit: Tim Williams
Keoni De Renne is representing the Pirates as a hitting coach for Glendale. Photo Credit: Tim Williams
Keller walking off the mound after a scoreless first inning. Photo Credit: Tim Williams
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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