Keller confident 'mentality shift' will help him break out of recent slump

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After Mitch Keller allowed five earned runs over four innings in his most recent start last Thursday against the Dodgers, Pirates manager Don Kelly bemoaned Keller’s lack of command and cited the right-hander’s difficulty finishing off batters.

Kelly also said the Pirates needed to help Keller formulate a plan to get him out of this recent rut, where he’s pitched to an 8.70 ERA over his past six starts.

As Keller takes the mound Tuesday against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, all involved expect to see a new version of Keller.

Or, perhaps more appropriately, an older one.

No more dancing around or trying to be too fine. Keller said he wants to be on “the ultra attack” and get back to how he’s pitched over the first halves of the past three seasons, where his ERA was 3.42.

“It’s a mentality shift,” Keller said. “I’ve been working through some delivery stuff that put me in a confident spot to go ahead and do that.

“It’s all about throwing strikes and getting back into the zone with favorable counts on my end. When I get into those counts, I have to execute better.”

Keller has averaged 3.9 walks per nine innings over his past eight starts, a sizable increase over his career rate of 3.1.

It’s true Keller needs to throw more strikes. He’s currently at 49.1%, which would represent the lowest such number for him in a full season. Keller threw 53.5% strikes in 2025 and was at 53.4% for a three-season sample dating back to 2023, when he was an All-Star.

That version of Keller pitched differently than this one. In 2023, Keller threw his sinker 22.8% of the time compared to 16.2% this season.

It was the pitch that may have saved Keller’s career. It’s also the one he needs to rediscover to get out of this funk.

Opponents never hit higher than .262 against Keller’s sinker from 2023-25, but they’re batting .357 against it this season, including .421 when he throws it to lefties.

A lot of that has been control, either Keller missing the zone or leaving it over the middle of the plate.

“It’s just a mental shift of being really focused and knowing where you’re missing,” Keller said. “If you’re not going to execute, you need to know where your miss is at.”

It’s certainly in there for Keller. Otherwise, how do you explain Keller going 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA through his first eight starts, with six of them being quality starts?

Keller knows it, too. He’s not having a great time right now, either, aware he’s counted upon to play an integral role in the Pirates starting rotation.

At the same time, Keller has consciously tried to fulfill his leadership role on this team, to not let individual performance impact how he carries himself around the clubhouse.

“Just try to be the same person every day,” Keller said. “The ups and downs of a season, practice what I preach. Be the same guy every time. It’s never as bad or never as good as you think. Show up every single day ready to work and try and get better.”

It’s been a frustrating five days for Keller, but it’s also been productive, he said. He and pitching staff have spent time refining his delivery so he feels more athletic on the mound, minor tweaks Keller believe will help when it comes to consistent strike-throwing.

But the bigger shift involves his mentality, and trusting his stuff enough to go after hitters.

“Just simplifying, trying to make the game simple again,” Keller said. “I’ve been trying to do too much sometimes. Just get back to a simpler attack.”

Keller has never been Statcast darling. His average fastball velocity (93.0) ranks in just the 25th percentile over on Baseball Savant. But he’s found success by challenging hitters, often with his sinker, and producing weak contact early in counts.

You can’t do that if you don’t consistently throw strikes, but Keller also knows it involves more than a snap of the fingers.

It requires a different type of mentality, one oozing confidence, and Keller feels he’s gotten to a good spot to put that into practice.

“A lot of the work has been getting back to my identity, filling up the zone and finding ways to put guys away,” Keller said. “I feel like I got a lot better this week. I’m confident with where I’m at.”

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.