BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Mitch Keller Hype Machine just cranked up another notch.
Keller will start the season with Double-A Altoona, but his first brush with the big time arrived Sunday afternoon at LECOM Park, when he plowed through the seventh and eighth innings of the Pirates' 2-1 loss to the Red Sox.
The Pirates' top prospect -- and one of the most promising pitchers in all of minor-league baseball -- struck out three Sox and allowed just one hit. Just as importantly, he hummed his fastball in the mid-to-high 90s and flashed a cutting curveball.
To hear Keller tell it, he was happy to simply stay upright on the mound.