BRADENTON, Fla. — It never dawned on Mitch Keller that he took the mound for their Grapefruit League home opener a year to the day after he signed a five-year, $77 million contract extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not having it on his mind was liberating.

“Now I can just play baseball and focus on the things I want to focus on,” Keller told TribLive. “As freeing as it sounds, then you also have that you’ve got to live up to it, too. That also adds a little bit of stress.”

Keller got off to a strong start in his spring training debut, throwing his sinker at 95.7 mph and showing efficiency in requiring only 14 pitches to record six outs.

Despite giving up three hits, the right-hander induced a pair of double-play groundouts to toss two scoreless innings in a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday before 5,433 at LECOM Park.

It was only one start — and a brief one, at that — but a promising sign for Keller, who turns 29 on April 4 and is entering his prime. He dealt with his share of adversity in his first four seasons, including a demotion to the minors in 2021 and being bumped to the bullpen in 2022. Now, Keller is at the heart of one of baseball’s top young starting rotations.

“I think you get more comfortable in your skin with maturation, but we’ve seen a guy that’s a bona fide leader on our team now, a guy that knows what it takes,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “This is a guy that grinded to be a really good big-league starter, in terms of being sent down, going into the bullpen, all of those things. He’s come out of it better, and I think we’re seeing a really mature, good, young major-league pitcher.”

That duality was evident last season, when the 2023 All-Star right-hander signed the long-term deal and earned the Opening Day start. Keller appeared ready to serve as the anchor of the starting rotation, at least until the arrival of 2024 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes.

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Still, the contract extension gave Keller the comfort of financial security, a rarity on the Pirates and especially their pitching staff. Teammates say it didn’t change Keller, other than allowing him to take on a more relaxed mentality to the mound.

“Mitch has always been a great guy,” Pirates catcher Jason Delay said. “I don’t think he’s necessarily changed at all since signing — he’s always been a great teammate — but you can imagine that there’s always been that comfort and a little stress off your shoulders. I don’t think I could speak highly enough of Mitch. Absolutely love him as a teammate and as a competitor on the mound. Skenes is awesome, but don’t forget about Mitch because he’s awesome, too.”

Keller performed that way in the first half last season, going 10-5 with a 3.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 105 strikeouts against 30 walks in 114 1/3 innings over 19 starts. He was soon overshadowed when Skenes made his major-league debut, was selected to start for the National League in the All-Star Game, won rookie of the year honors and finished third in Cy Young voting. With Keller, Skenes and Jared Jones, the Pirates had a strong top three in their starting rotation, and Keller set the example.

“He’s an absolute pro,” Skenes said of Keller. “It’s simple: He shows up and does his work every day. He’s a really good leader and goes out there and posts. He eats innings and does it at a high level, which is what we need. You always need someone who’s going to go out there and give you six or seven each outing. You can never have too many of those.”

But Keller struggled in the second half for a second consecutive season. He went 1-7 with a 5.65 ERA over his final 12 starts, making only three quality starts over the final two months after having a dozen through July. It marked the second year in a row Keller’s ERA jumped two points, and it became an issue he wanted to address.

“The goal for me this year is to have a better second half numbers-wise than the first half,” Keller said. “Hopefully, we’re clicking as a team. It’s a lot easier when we’re winning to bring it every single day.”

Even though he showed off a six-pitch mix that includes an improved changeup he hopes will induce weak contact, Keller is quick to admit that other pitchers on the staff have better stuff than he does. For now, he has things on his resume that they don’t. Keller takes pride in setting the franchise record for strikeouts in a season by a right-hander (210), making 32 starts in 2023 and taking aim at exceeding 200 innings for the first time in his career. He also has a pair of complete games on his resume, including a shutout.

Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said they studied methods to improve Keller’s workload management and maintenance during the season. And Keller picked the brains of major-league starting pitchers, including 2023 AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole, about doing more video work and specific weight training to prevent a second-half slide.

“I’m confident that he’s going to have a different second half this year,” Marin said. “We’re already thinking about how we are going to adjust that when we get there.”

First, Keller wanted to enjoy an eventful offseason that was highlighted by becoming a father. Keller said the birth of his son, Quinton, on Jan. 22 gave him a greater sense of purpose.

“I’m doing this for him and my family — not that I wasn’t doing it for my wife or anybody, but it just adds a little bit of a steppingstone,” Keller said. “You know there’s someone else out there watching you, and I’m playing for him. It’s cool. It’s a whole different perspective. It makes you want it that much more.”

Note: In his Grapefruit League debut, Pirates 2024 first-round pick Konnor Griffin got his first MLB spring training hit by delivering a winning RBI single to break a 1-1 tie in the four-run seventh inning.

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