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Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 5 Performers of the Season's First Half
By Andre Curtis
No. 1 - Mitch Keller
From Iowa cornfields to the Steel City, Mitch Keller has followed up on a quality 2022 season with a dominant 2023. Adding a sinker to his arsenal of pitches to go with his wide-ranging sweeper has worked wonders for the Pirate ace.
Keller currently owns a 3.34 ERA with 9 wins and 3 losses. What's most impressive though, are his strikeouts. Keller has 118 strikeouts in 105.0 innings pitched in 2023. His 118 strikeouts rank second in the National League only behind Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves.
Keller also leads the MLB in strikeouts looking. The Pirates may be a lackluster team, but the emergence of Keller has been paramount to the team's fair record this season.
Mitch Keller's sweeper is a thing of beauty.
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) June 23, 2023
82.3 MPH, 2774 RPM, 39 inch vertical break, 22 inch vertical break
He finishes the night with 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER(?), 0 BB, 5 K, 107 pitches pic.twitter.com/4hsjh3pc7S