Bucs' Keller placed on DL with back strain

Mitch Keller has been pulled early in consecutive starts for different reasons, the second of which landed him on the seven-day disabled list.
The Pirates' No. 2 prospect was placed on the DL on Friday by Class A Advanced Bradenton due to a back strain, a move retroactive to Wednesday. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-hander lasted one inning in his last start on May 16 and allowed two runs, both of which came on a homer by Reds top prospect Nick Senzel.

Keller went 4 2/3 innings in his previous start before getting mysteriously pulled -- it was later disclosed he was stung by a bee after a mound visit. He had allowed one hit to that point and retired nine straight batters.
After a rough season debut in which he surrendered five runs on five hits over 2 1/3 innings against Charlotte, Keller produced five straight quality starts before being forced out of his last two outings and has a 1.91 ERA in his past seven starts.
The 2014 second-round pick enjoyed a breakout 2016 campaign, going 8-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 131-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 124 1/3 innings for Class A West Virginia before joining the Marauders for his final start of the season, when he struck out seven over six scoreless innings against Jupiter. Keller went 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in two postseason starts as Bradenton captured the Florida State League championship.