Mitch Keller Makes Pirates History in Win Over Rays
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller has slowly established himself as a crucial member of the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation over the past few years, but also shown consistency during that time as well.
Keller is now 10th in Pirates history with 856 strikeouts, after posting a season-high five strikeouts in the 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the series finale at PNC Park on April 19.
He eclipsed right-handed pitcher Rick Rhoden, who had 852 strikeouts over eight seasons from 1979-86, with his third second strikeout of the game, which came when he struck out Rays designated hitter Yandy Díaz.
It was a great start for Keller overall, as he threw a season-high seven innings, giving up just two runs and saving a tired Pirates bullpen.
Keller was pleased with his start postgame, but was also happy with the honor of being in the top 10 in Pirates history for strikeouts.
“It just means I’ve been here awhile, I guess," Keller said. "I had no idea about that stuff. That’s cool to be in the conversation with some of the greats who have been here.”
Where Could Keller End Up with Strikeouts as a Pirate
Keller made his debut with the Pirates in 2019 and is in his eighth season with the team, with this his seventh season in the starting rotation.
The nine other Pirates pitchers in the top 10 strikeouts list ahead of Keller have all pitched more than eight seasons, with Dock Ellis the closest at just nine seasons from 1968-75.
Pirates All-Time Strikeouts List
Pitcher | Strikeouts | Years Played |
|---|---|---|
Bob Friend | 1,682 | 1951-65 |
Bob Veale | 1,652 | 1962-72 |
Wilbur Cooper | 1,191 | 1912-24 |
John Candelaria | 1,159 | 1975-85 |
Vern Law | 1,092 | 1950-51, 1954-67 |
Babe Adams | 1,036 | 1907, 1909–1916, 1918–1926 |
Steve Blass | 896 | 1964, 1966–1974 |
Dock Ellis | 869 | 1968–1975 |
Deacon Phillippe | 861 | 1900–1911 |
Mitch Keller | 856 | 2019-Present |
Keller is having his lowest K/9 rate (strikeouts per nine innings) in 2026 at just 5.90, with his previous-low of 6.65 back in 2020, where he made just five starts due to the COVID-19 pandemic shortening the season to five starts.
Even with this rate, if he reaches about 175 innings, he should get another 94 strikeouts to end up with 113 strikeouts in 2026.
This would easily put him seventh on the Pirates all-time strikeouts list, going ahead of Steve Blass, Ellis and Deacon Phillippe, who each have 896, 869 and 861 strikeouts, respectively.
Keller should get ahead of those three pitchers within the next month or so, especially Ellis and Phillippe, who he is just 14 strikeouts from eclipsing.
The 30-year old pitcher has two more seasons after this one on his five-year, $77.5 million extension he signed on Feb. 22, 2024, which could put him into the top three, if he gets to about 140-150 strikeouts over those seasons as well.
Keller would likely have to start for a few more seasons after his extension before he could even threaten at the top two on the list, but at just 30 years old, it's not an impossible task.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.