The Pirates Prospects 2016 Prospect Guide is now on sale. The book features prospect reports on everyone in the system, the 2016 top 50 prospects, and the most comprehensive coverage of the Pirates’ farm system that you can find. Subscribers to the site get free and discounted books, with Top Prospect subscribers getting the 2016 book for free, and Annual subscribers getting $10 off. Both levels of subscribers can also get the book for just $5. Details on all three promotions can be found on the products page, and you can subscribe to the site or upgrade your current plan on the subscriptions page.
While the top 50 prospects are exclusive to the book, we will be releasing the top 20 prospects over the next few weeks. The reports will only be available to site subscribers, including those with a monthly plan. You can subscribe here, and if you like these reports, be sure to purchase your copy of the book on the products page of the site to get much more analysis on every player in the system.
To recap the countdown so far:
20. Willy Garcia, RF
19. Clay Holmes, RHP
We continue the countdown with the number 18 prospect, Mitch Keller.
18. Mitch Keller, RHP
The Pirates drafted three over-slot prep pitchers in 2014, and sent all three of them to Bristol this year. Keller was the first one of the group drafted, received a $1 M signing bonus, and looks like the best prospect of the group, which also includes Gage Hinsz and Trey Supak. However, an assortment of minor injuries limited all three pitchers, and Keller couldn’t escape this bug.
Keller was out at the end of extended Spring Training and the beginning of Bristol’s season due to mild forearm tightness. Due to his age and upside, plus the large amount of Tommy John surgeries the Pirates have had in the last year, you can understand why the Pirates were cautious with him. He returned in August, and had decent numbers, with much better results when you look at his advanced metrics. He was hurt in part due to poor fielding, but it also didn’t help that he issued a lot of walks.
What makes Keller such a good pitching prospect, and easily better than his counterparts in Bristol, is his easy velocity. He sits comfortably in the 91-94 MPH range, touching 95. He also has advanced breaking stuff, with a curveball that has good, sharp break, and good command. He’s learning a changeup, and could still see his velocity increase due to his effortless delivery, easy arm action, and projectable frame.
Keller has dealt with control problems at times, which crept up in August, but looked much better earlier in the season during extended Spring Training. He’s going to have to fix those issues as well, in order to reach his upside.
The Pirates could get aggressive with Keller and send him to West Virginia, although his lack of innings this year might have him on pace for Morgantown. A lot of that could depend on how his control and his changeup fare in Spring Training, since the Pirates won’t want him getting bounced early at the higher level and blowing up the bullpen. He’s got a lot of upside, with the potential to be a mid-rotation guy or better, and the easy stuff and projectability that you can dream on. Keller is one of the best arms to watch in the lower levels.
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