Morning Rundown: Mitch Keller breaks Pirates single season strikeout for righties
Passes AJ Burnett's former record of 209 in a season
If you were to go back just a couple of years, I’m not sure anyone would have guessed that the path Mitch Keller was on would lead him to the moment he found himself at Tuesday night.
After striking out Nick Castellanos to end the fifth inning, Keller passed AJ Burnett for the single season strikeout record among right-handed pitchers in franchise history.
It wasn’t too long ago where there was a graphic on screen during a broadcast that showed Keller ranking as the worst pitcher in several categories, now not only is he an All-Star, but also has more strikeouts than any other right-handed pitchers in franchise history.
Tuesday was Keller’s 32nd start, and in that time he has posted a 4.21 ERA with 13 wins and those 210 strikeouts to 55 walks in 194.1 innings pitched.
He’s also in line to make the start on the final game of the season, which would give him the opportunity to cross the 200 inning threshold.
Alika Williams optioned to Indianapolis
Nick Gonzales rejoined the Pirates for the final weeks worth of games, with Alika Williams being the roster move to make space.
Williams made his major league debut earlier in the season and while he’s played some strong defense, hasn’t been able to hit much.
Pirates sign Anthony Sosa
The Pirates made a splash on the international market, signing Anthony Sosa - nephew of Sammy - to a $100,000 bonus.
A tweet announcing the signing mentions he is a SS/OF, as is the case with a lot of international signings, there isn’t much details on the player himself. There is a few clips on twitter, linked here.
Congrats on a highly successful season Mitch. Hopefully this season will serve as a springboard to an even better year next season. And to a new long-term contract extension this winter.
What does an extension look like for Keller?
2 more Arbitration years left. Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber & Brandon Woodruff each got ~10mil for their Arb3 year. Couldn't find a comparable SP for Arb4, so lets just call that ~15mil. So essentially 2 years, 25-30mil left on his "current contract".
I found 2 comparable SP, Arb Extensions - Kyle Freeland (5/$65, bought out 4 FA years) & Logan Webb (5/$90, 3 FA years). Both have been better than Keller over their careers, but we're hoping Keller's last season+ has put him at their level.
Here's what I propose: 4 years, $65 million + 5th year option that can bring it to 5/$85. 16.25mil AAV w a $20 mil option year.