Pirates Q&A: Is Mitch Keller Ready to Silence his Critics?

I’ve made no secret of my love for Nick the Stick. To be fair (and not overly dramatic), the prospect evaluators did not exactly bury Nick but they were not glowing either. For example, here’s part of the write-up from Fangraphs: “Even if some of our concerns come to bear, Gonzales still has the talent to be a good everyday second baseman. We’re just not comfortable projecting him as an All-Star at this juncture.”

A good everyday second baseman? Not an all-star? Umm, try M-V-F***ing-P!

I understand it's these guys literal jobs to know as much about these guys as possible. I’m a suburban dad writing on the Internet. However, I do think some of the prospect pundits over evaluate at times in a way that twists their opinion. Gonzales has a lightning-fast swing and mashes at every level. 

College? Led the NCAA in homers.

Cape Cod League? Hit .351, won the MVP.

High A Greensboro? Hit .303 and 18 bombs with a broken hand.

Arizona Fall League? Hit .380.

Dude just keeps hitting. 

Yes, he struggled to start the year in Greensboro but his strikeout rate dropped significantly once he returned from injury. He said in a late-season interview that the injury hampered him throughout the year, saying he was back playing for weeks before it started to feel right. When he finally got healthy, he murdered the ball. 

I take your concerns about him and reject them completely.

Q: What will the Pirates do once the lockout lifts?

Nothing? 

The Pirates will lose 95 games this year, so investments in the major league team are still a year – at least – away. We’ll likely see a few pitchers signed to minor league deals, maybe a first baseman off the scrap heap and a catcher in the Rule 5 draft. Otherwise, I expect the Pirates to go in 2022 with things as they stand today, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

We all know the major league team lacks talent, so even a big splurge would do little to move the needle. This year will be about opportunity for the players Cherington has acquired over the past two years. Is Tucupita Marcano good? Can Diego Castillo really play shortstop? Will Michael Chavis strike out 300 times? I have no idea. This year will be to sort these type of guys out at the major league level and see who could fit into the long-term picture.

Q: Will the Pirates trade Bryan Reynolds?

Nah, they are more likely to extend him but I’m not sure either happens.

Extensions usually get done during the arbitration process near the beginning of spring training. With the lockout this year, I could see an extension being delayed a year – assuming the Pirates even want to extend him at this time. 

As for a trade, only a handful of teams (Yankees, Mariners, Marlins) make sense and I’m not sure any would be willing to pay what Cherington wants. I fully expect Reynolds to play the full year in Pittsburgh. 

Q: Did you see Mitch Keller throwing 100 miles per hour!!?!!??! Cy Young baby!

Hold on there, amigo. Sure, the Keller video is cool but I’m not ready to believe anything Keller does for a long time. I’m definitely not going to be like this dummy below who is comparing Keller’s bullpen session in a warehouse with Gerrit Cole, who finished second in last year’s Cy Young voting. The stupidity is astounding.

Sure, the data reads may look similar, but we always knew Keller had the arm. The question is can he trust his stuff, repeat his delivery, add a little deception and not have the “oh shit it’s happening again” face while pitching. 

Not so fun stat: Hitters last year slashed 322/400/477 against him. In other words, everyone who stepped into the box against him hit like Bryan Reynolds.

Let’s get a few hitters out in Spring Training before we start comparing him to Cole? Thanks.

Q. It looks like the DH is coming to the National League. Who on the Pirates should hit in that spot?

First, I’m sad to see pitchers no longer getting to hit. I enjoyed their terribleness. It helped the game go a little faster, added some strategy and was a huge boost when the pitcher did something at the plate. We are all worse for this rule change.



As for who gets the at-bats, I’m for a DH-by-committee approach. There is no need to sign some veteran to just fill that spot (and please don’t cry about Colin Moran, he was not good). The Pirates should give DH at-bats to the younger guys in an effort to keep as many developing at-bats in the lineup as possible. We’re not winning this year, so we can wait a bit to fill that spot.