Garrett Mitchell’s season has finally reached the point where the injury questions no longer get to dominate the conversation. For the first time in his big league career, he has simply been on the field long enough for the Brewers - and everyone else - to get a real read on what he is.
That alone makes this year different. Mitchell has dealt with two major shoulder injuries while sliding into bases, plus time missed with a broken finger and an oblique strain.
In his first four partial big-league seasons, he never stayed healthy long enough to settle the debate around his game. Was he a useful regular, or just another frustrating case of what might have been?
Now there’s an answer, or at least a clearer picture. Mitchell’s plate appearances have climbed to 464, more than he had across those first four partial seasons combined.
The production hasn’t broken the scale in either direction, either. His .770 OPS this year is almost a dead match for his career mark before the season, .766.
That kind of line fits the odd shape of his offensive profile. Mitchell still brings a lot of swing-and-miss for a hitter who doesn’t really have the kind of power that usually covers it up.
Few Brewers have less raw bat speed than he does, and he’s also one of the least likely hitters in baseball to lift the ball to the pull field. His batted-ball profile is extreme, and not in a flattering way.
His contact rate is close to disastrous.
And yet he keeps producing enough to matter.
He has only nine home runs, which makes sense when you look at how often he pounds the ball on the ground and sends so many of his fly balls to the opposite field. But the hard contact has been there often enough to keep him afloat, even with a strikeout rate that still sits around 30%.
There have been the usual peaks and valleys, too. Pat Murphy has sometimes shielded Mitchell from left-handed starters when the roster has allowed it, and that has helped keep his workload manageable for a player with this much two-way value.
Maybe that’s part of why he’s having the healthiest season of his career. More likely, he’s just getting some long-overdue good fortune on the injury front.
The bigger question now is what comes next. As the Brewers move toward the stretch run and into October, Mitchell’s role still isn’t fully settled.
Murphy has made it clear he’ll play whoever gives the Brewers the best chance to win, and that could leave Mitchell on the outside at times once the postseason arrives. Milwaukee’s outfield depth has gotten better as the season has gone on, which adds more pressure.
Still, the basic truth is hard to miss: Mitchell has become a solidly above-average regular on the best team in baseball. That would have sounded close to fantasy a year ago.
This summer changed that. He’s been out there all season, and he’s been good enough to matter.
In Other News...
Brewers Rookie Fireballer Gets One Last Shot At The Cubs
Jacob Misiorowski gets another chance to face the Cubs on Tuesday at American Family Field, and for a rookie with only three big league starts under his belt, that is a pretty quick return to a familiar rivalry. He has already been a problem for Chicago this season, going 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in those matchups while striking out 21 in 16 innings, and the Brewers have seen firsthand how his power stuff can change a game in a hurry.
The most memorable version of Misiorowski against the Cubs came when he hit 105.5 mph on the radar gun, a fastball that tied for the third-fastest ever tracked by Statcast. He was knocked around more recently at Wrigley Field, though Milwaukee still finished the job, so this one feels like another test of how much the Cubs can adjust before the rookie fireballer gets one more shot at them. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Enter A Crucial Stretch With New Pressure On Their Pitching Staff
After a week of back-and-forth games with the Cubs, the Brewers came away with a 3-4 mark and a sharper sense of where the pressure sits right now. The offense has had its moments, but Logan Henderson stood out for giving Milwaukee a solid pitching performance even as the staff around him continued to wobble through a stretch that made every inning feel important.
The roster churn has only added to the urgency. Milwaukee activated Abner Uribe and JoJo Romero from the injured list, put Bryse Wilson on the injured list, and watched Joel Kuhnel get designated for assignment before the Giants claimed him, a reminder that the pitching group is still being tested on multiple fronts. With more games against a division rival fresh in the rearview, the Brewers now have to hope these personnel moves help stabilize things before the next turn of the schedule gets any tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Bullpen Suddenly Has A New Problem In Crucial Stretch
The Brewers had to shuffle their relief mix again Wednesday, placing Grant Anderson on the 15-day injured list with right biceps inflammation and calling up Brandon Sproat to take his spot on the major league roster. It is another hit to a bullpen that has been asked to carry a heavy load in a crucial stretch, and Milwaukee is leaning on depth at a point in the season when every available arm matters.
Sproat has already appeared in 21 big league games this season, and he arrives after pitching well lately in Triple-A, giving the Brewers a fresh option as they sort through the late-inning picture. Manager Pat Murphy also suggested there could be changes ahead for Kyle Harrisons role amid recent struggles, leaving Milwaukee with more questions than answers as it tries to stabilize the bullpen on the fly. [Read more 🡒]