BRADENTON, Fla. -- The numbers tell a partial story of Mitch Keller’s second outing of the spring. Three innings. One baserunner, via walk. Two strikeouts. Almost more impressive than the numbers, Keller is keeping bat manufacturers busy.
“When you throw 100, you're probably going to get some broken bats in there as well,” outfielder Greg Allen said with a smile.
In two consecutive innings in the Pirates' 3-3, rain-shortened tie against the Phillies, Keller threw a fastball that shattered a bat, the unmistakable sound of splintering lumber reverberating throughout the stadium.
In the first inning, Keller threw an inside fastball to Rhys Hoskins at 98.2 mph that broke his bat and resulted in a weak popout to second baseman Kevin Newman. The following frame, Keller lit up the radar gun with a 99.8 mph heater that busted Mickey Moniak’s bat as well, receiving the Pitching Ninja cosign in the process.
Pure velocity is not the end all, be all, but Keller’s sitting in the high 90s is a welcome, if not exciting development. Through two games this spring, he has thrown 21 pitches at least 97 mph. In his first three seasons, by comparison, Keller had only thrown 41 pitches at that velocity. As he put it plainly, “When I throw hard, it's harder to hit.”
Keller’s first inning was slightly rocky as he threw more balls (10) than strikes (seven), although both he and manager Derek Shelton pointed out that the misses weren’t egregious. Thanks to a brief talk with catcher Roberto Pérez, Keller more consistently found the strike zone in the second and third innings, throwing 16 of his 26 pitches for strikes.
“I felt in control the whole time,” Keller said. “I think I looked up at the [scoreboard] and thought, 'Damn, I'm throwing the same amount of strikes as balls,' but it didn't feel like that. It felt like I was attacking hitters. The misses I was having weren't terrible misses. They were super competitive and around the zone, right where I wanted them.”
Allen shows off power, speed
With every passing game, Greg Allen nudges himself a little closer to locking down a starting job. He continued to do so on Thursday, flashing both power and speed.
In his first plate appearance, Allen homered off the Phillies’ Aaron Nola for his second long ball of Spring Training, fighting turbulent wind in the process. The following plate appearance, he legged out an infield single to first base by just barely beating Philadelphia’s James McArthur to the bag. Allen provided some in-game entertainment as well, making a running catch while wearing a microphone and frantically yelling, “I got it!” four times in the process.
“He continues to make a good impression,” Shelton said. “He’s had good at-bats. He’s done a nice job on the bases. Came into camp in really good shape. Overall, really good impression.”
No one on Pittsburgh has had a better spring than Allen. In four games, he has done a little bit of everything, totaling three hits (two of which were homers), two walks, two hit-by-pitches and a steal. While the Pirates still have more than a handful of games to play, Allen is the likely frontrunner for a starting corner outfield spot.
Vogelbach bats leadoff, Reynolds continues to hit second
Spring Training is an opportunity to try out stuff. On Thursday, Shelton got creative with his lineup, inserting Daniel Vogelbach as the leadoff man.
“He gets on base. He sees pitches,” Shelton said. “To get him at-bats I think is an important thing. I just like to tinker and make sure you guys have something to talk about.”
Vogelbach, who went hitless in three at-bats on Thursday, actually has experience hitting first. In five games at the leadoff spot, three of which were last year with the Brewers, he has a hit and two walks in seven plate appearances.
A more subtle tweak to the lineup was having Bryan Reynolds hit second and Ke'Bryan Hayes hit third, a configuration that Shelton is considering. Reynolds has exclusively hit in the two-spot in every game he’s played this spring, while Hayes has hit third in two games and leadoff in one.
“It’s something that we’ve talked about and continue to toy with,” Shelton said. “I don’t think we’ve come to a conclusion with where we’re at. You may see different lineups depending on who the pitcher is and depending on the handedness of the pitcher.”
Justice delos Santos is a reporter for MLB.com.