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PITTSBURGH -- It has snowed and snowed in Pittsburgh over the past week, so it’s somewhat comforting to think about the warm Florida sun soon approaching as Spring Training is less than a week away.
So here’s my first edition of the Pirates Inbox as we get set for Grapefruit League action and the position battles start to heat up.
Do you think Mitch Keller has a breakout season, and who do you think will be the "ace" of the starting rotation?
-- @BucsfanNY
When he began his pro career, he was consistently in the top tier of the Pirates’ prospects. Now, he’s an MLB pitcher who has graduated from prospect status. His first taste of the Majors was not ideal (38 earned runs in 48 innings), and even as he saw big gains in 2020, he had to work overtime to get batters out. But Keller still has only 69 2/3 big league innings -- not even a full half-season’s worth, in most cases -- under his belt.