Pittsburgh Pirates: West Virginia Power Player Awards

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /

Pitcher of the Year

The West Virginia Power’s pitcher of the year is Mitch Keller. No real surprise there. Mitch Keller was easily the most dominant pitcher in the South Atlantic League this year.  The former 2014 second round pick showed great stuff all season.  To go along with his stuff he also showed great command.  When you mix these two things together you get a really good season.  The biggest question mark that surrounded Keller entering the season was whether or not he would remain healthy.  Keller missed most of the 2015 season with a strained forearm.  Keller did not miss any times this year however.

On the season Keller pitched in 23 games for the Power.  In those 23 games he threw a total of 124.1 innings.   Keller average over one strikeout per inning pitched as he racked up a total of 131 strikeouts across the season.  What was even more impressive is the fact that he only walked 18 batters in those 124 innings.  This averages out to an impressive 1.33 walks per nine innings pitched.  This is really impressive for a 20-year-old pitcher who throws 95 miles per hour.  To sum up his season he had a 2.43 earned run average, and a WHIP of 0.92.  All these numbers allowed him to finish the year in High-A, and makes him the pitcher of the year at Low-A.