A Look at Chinooks in the Minor Leagues

Keaton Steele – Minnesota Twins – Elizabethton Twins (Rookie)

Keaton Steele has already experienced the highs and lows of baseball. The right-handed pitcher from the University of Missouri was selected in the 8^th round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins after completing a stellar two years of two-way play for the Tigers where he starred both on the mound and at the plate.

Steele had a brief stint with the Lakeshore Chinooks in 2012 as he was preparing to join the Missouri Tigers after starring for Iowa Western Community College in the 2012 NJCAA World Series where he was named the MVP. That feat seemed next to impossible as he had missed all of 2011 due to surgery required to repair both a torn labrum and rotator-cuff. Chinooks fans never got to see Steele at his best in 2012 when he pitched just nine innings and hit .182 in 22 plate appearances. Steele’s long season had caught up with him!

Steele thrived in Columbia with Mizzou where he was selected to the All-SEC first team as a DH and recorded a 5-3 record on the mound in 2013. That summer he was slated to return to Lakeshore, but after pitching more innings than expected for the Tigers, he was held back by his coaches. The summer off helped Steele rejuvenate his fast ball, clocked at 97 mph, and allowed him to notch nine saves in his senior season and impress the Minnesota scouts.

Chinooks manager Eddy Morgan recalls, “We never got to see Keaton at his best. He had a tired arm after the JUCO World Series, but we knew with his arm strength and a solid slider, he had a chance to make it.” While not on display in his numbers with the Chinooks, Steele’s story of overcoming adversity is one of the most remarkable amongst Lakeshore alums.

This past summer, Steele headed to the Twins Rookie level team, the Elizabethton Twins in Tennessee, where he has made the transition to full-time pitching. That focus paid off as Keaton posted a solid 2-1 record with a 2.93 ERA in 19 appearances. In 30.2 innings of work, Steele struck out 33 batters. As he transitions to the professional level, the lessons learned from his previous injuries have served him well. “I haven’t changed the way I pitch, but more the way I prepare and I have learned to do more stretching properly and more consistently,” says Steele. Hopefully, that knowledge and Steele’s ability to handle adversity will pay dividends on his path to the majors.