Since his promotion to the Double-A level in 2023, Keagan Gillies has shown growth.
The 6-foot-8, 255-pound right-handed reliever has six saves this season with a 0.78 ERA, a 0.565 WHIP and 27 strikeouts through 23 innings.
Gillies explained he has an alter ego when he is getting ready to enter a game.
“When I know I’m going in [for] the ninth, it just kind of flips,” Gillies said on Glenn Clark Radio May 29. “I get into the mentality of, ‘I’m going to go in there and dominate,’ and that’s just what comes out on the other side.”
The 27-year-old is confident he can succeed as a closer but wants to show that he is a team player, regardless of his role.
“Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter where I am,” Gillies said. “I know I’m going to go out there with the same confidence and the same intensity, regardless if it’s the first or the ninth. So, just showing that I can be usable in different situations and different high-leverage situations is something that you always want to put on your resume. And ultimately, that’s where I’d like to be. But I’ll do anything to help the team, so put me in any situation.”
It doesn’t matter the score or inning — Gillies pitches with the confidence of a seasoned professional.
“It’s a little different when you’re going into the bottom of the ninth in a one-run game and everything, every little small thing matters,” Gillies said. “So I try to keep that same intensity, whether you know, we’re up or down by 10, or we’re up or down by one going into the ninth. And that’s something I try to pride myself on because you don’t want to go out there in a blowout game, and then now I’m struggling in the zone, I’m giving up runs, I’m giving up hits, that all plays a factor. So I try to keep the same mentality, whether it’s the bottom of the ninth or the fifth inning.”
Drafted in the 15th round out of Tulane in 2021, Gillies believes his skills can translate to the major league level, but knows the environment is quite different at that level.
“I definitely think I can get major league hitters out throwing how I’m throwing right now, but the difference between throwing in Bowie on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday night and throwing in the big leagues in front of tens of thousands of people is definitely a big shake. That adrenaline is going to kick in a little bit more,” Gillies said.
Gillies knows that in order to succeed and translate his skills to the big league level, he needs to have a confident mentality.
“I think regardless of how you’re performing, what your results are, I think all that stuff plays a factor into your confidence,” Gillies said. “But overall, just coming into every game with the confidence that you’re the best on the field, you’re the best on the team, you’re the best in the org, you’re the best in the world, is something that you have to go in with. If not, this game will eat you up mentally.”
For more from Gillies, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Baysox Team Photographer Joe Noyes