Cameron Keshock, a right-handed pitcher from Samford University, worked out for the Pirates before the draft and the organization's interest was "perked." It led to Keshock getting selected at No. 353, the team's 12th-round pick.
At 6-7, 225 pounds, Keshock towers on the mound. He made 10 starts for Samford and produced a 6.50 ERA over 54 innings while striking out 52. He had one start with double-digit strikeouts and allowed five or more runs in three of his appearances. He has a two-seam fastball that sits between 90-94 mph, but it is more of a groundball-inducing pitch, which is something the Pirates say they believe they can help with.
"I think our pitching development staff has proven that these are the types of things that we can help tinker with with the pitcher's arsenal if they're open-minded," Justin Horowitz said. "Sometimes there's upside and sometimes it doesn't click, but there are definitely traits with Keshock that we noticed."
Keshock also has a mid-80s gyro slider and a mid-80s changeup. However, he's struggled to connect all of his "levers" at times.
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THE ASYLUM
Cameron Keshock, a right-handed pitcher from Samford University, worked out for the Pirates before the draft and the organization's interest was "perked." It led to Keshock getting selected at No. 353, the team's 12th-round pick.
At 6-7, 225 pounds, Keshock towers on the mound. He made 10 starts for Samford and produced a 6.50 ERA over 54 innings while striking out 52. He had one start with double-digit strikeouts and allowed five or more runs in three of his appearances. He has a two-seam fastball that sits between 90-94 mph, but it is more of a groundball-inducing pitch, which is something the Pirates say they believe they can help with.
"I think our pitching development staff has proven that these are the types of things that we can help tinker with with the pitcher's arsenal if they're open-minded," Justin Horowitz said. "Sometimes there's upside and sometimes it doesn't click, but there are definitely traits with Keshock that we noticed."
Keshock also has a mid-80s gyro slider and a mid-80s changeup. However, he's struggled to connect all of his "levers" at times.
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