BRADENTON, Fla. -- Mitch Keller anchored the Pirates' starting rotation last year, and even at 26 years old, he has more experience than many around him. Entering his fifth Major League season, the righty also isn¡¯t shy to share that he wants to be on the bump come Opening Day.

Keller seems the most likely candidate after leading the Pirates in innings (159) and starts (29) in 2022, and putting in a full offseason¡¯s work in building his confidence and regaining velocity while also working to miss bats.

The extra tinkering behind the scenes has made Keller a standout in camp as well. He was rewarded on Thursday as pitching coach Oscar Marin announced that Keller would get the nod for Saturday¡¯s Grapefruit League opener against the Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. ET at LECOM Park.

¡°I just know Mitch has worked, and I trust Mitch¡¯s work. He's been ready to go for a while,¡± Marin said. ¡°I think one of his offseason sides, the last one before he came in, he was up to 97-98 mph. So I¡¯m not too worried about Mitch being ready.¡±

While Keller¡¯s news was the highlight of Marin¡¯s sit-down with Pirates media, he hit on a handful of other topics as well:

Finding identity
A solid slogan to trumpet during the highs or help fight through the lulls can sometimes make all the difference. This season¡¯s mantra for the pitching staff involves piling it on where it counts.

¡°When someone comes in to play the Pittsburgh Pirates, they¡¯re going to smother you in the zone,¡± Marin said. ¡°That¡¯s something we¡¯ve been talking about a ton. ¡­ [But it¡¯s] not just the pitchers, right? Our catchers and [Austin] Hedges doing the job he did with the staff he had where he came from [the Guardians]. They did a really nice job with that over the course of last year, and that¡¯s one of the reasons they had a chance to compete in the playoffs, being able to do that.

¡°It¡¯s not just the pitchers and the philosophy of changing their mindset. It¡¯s also our catchers, and they¡¯ve been doing a phenomenal job in live BPs of understanding where guys¡¯ misses are and how to get them back in the zone and where to set up on the plate.¡±

Brubaker's on his way
JT Brubaker led the team in strikeouts last season (147) and was second to Keller in innings pitched (144). The righty also made a career-high 28 starts in his third season and now has had the benefit of a full offseason to combine with a full Spring Training. So what¡¯s in store for the 29-year-old in his fourth MLB season?

¡°I think he took some of the steps last year,¡± Marin said. ¡°¡­ For him, it¡¯s the consistency of the everyday work and the consistency of just being able to handle the tough situations and not letting them speed up on him. Him controlling his own tempo.¡±

Smith's role in 2023
After spending part of 2021 and all of last season in the D-backs' bullpen, a retooled Caleb Smith sounds destined for long relief at the very least in ¡¯23 with Pittsburgh.

¡°We see a guy who knows how to pitch," Marin said. "He¡¯s healthy now. It¡¯s just one of those things of, ¡®How can we build him up safely to that role that he wants to be in,¡¯ and that¡¯s stretching him out as a starter right now. But he knows how to pitch, so it¡¯s just getting him to understand where you can get your quick outs and where can you get your swing-and-miss as opposed to being a reliever, when at times you just have to look for that swing-and-miss.¡±

Playing it close to the vest
Marin smiled when asked what his starting rotation would be come April, quipping that he couldn¡¯t just show all his cards so early in camp. While we could pontificate -- Keller, Roansy Contreras, Rich Hill, Brubaker and Vince Velasquez seems like a good choice for now -- Marin reminded that anything could happen in the next month. That¡¯s the fun of Spring Training, after all.

¡°Without telling you guys too much ¡­ you always have a couple of guys in your mind. But there's true competition for some spots in the rotation. It¡¯s one of those things where, this early in Spring Training, it's really tough to say, ¡®Oh, these are the exact guys I'm thinking about.¡¯ You just never know. But the one thing about it is it's really good to have some of the [veteran] guys around the clubhouse that are going help these guys take the next step.¡±