I’ve always hated the off day following Opening Day especially after a lame loss like Thursday’s game against the Mets. You have to sit all day just thinking about the loss instead of getting back out there with a new game. Well, one positive this year with the off day is the bullpen was able to rest after Thursday’s six-reliever parade that saw plenty of walks and runs scored for the Mets.
Starting on the mound today for the Bucs will be veteran starter Mitch Keller. It’ll be his first start of the 2026 season and his 164th start of his career, all with the Bucs. Here are Keller’s ERAs the past three seasons:
2023: 4.21
2024: 4.25
2025: 4.19
And he’s averaged 182 innings in the past three seasons. As bad as his second halves have been, Mitch certainly is consistent. At this point you just know what you’re going to get from him. I call him the rubber arm. Every season I look for Keller to pull it all together in the second half, but it just never happens. I think it’s what he is by now. Here’s his last three season splits per half:
2023:
First half: 3.31 ERA
Second half: 5.59 ERA
2024:
First half: 3.46 ERA
Second half: 5.65 ERA
2025:
First half: 3.48 ERA
Second half: 5.65 ERA
I mean how consistent are those numbers? It’s crazy how consistently good he’s been in the first half and how consistently bad he’s been in the second half. Too bad this wasn’t soccer where you loan players to different clubs. You could loan Keller out for the second half each season.
It would be a great plus for this rotation if he’s able to figure out the second half woes, but I wouldn’t bet on it. It just seems like that’s who he is. Today the first half begins so let’s get a nice, 6-inning Keller start to help the bullpen out.
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