Milwaukee Brewers: What Draft Analysts Said About OF Garrett Mitchell

Here is what a handful of draft analysts had to say about Milwaukee Brewers’ 20th overall selection, outfielder Garrett Mitchell of UCLA.

Round 1 of the MLB Draft took place Wednesday night, and for the Milwaukee Brewers who were selecting at 20th overall, they landed centerfield prospect Garrett Mitchell of UCLA who many did not expect to be on the board at that point.

And of those who didn’t necessarily expect Mitchell to be available was Brewers Vice President of Domestic Scouting Tod Johnson who echoed those sentiments to reporters after the selection (via Milwaukee Journal Sentinel):

"“Coming into the draft, would I think he’d get to No. 20? Maybe not.” Johnson would then add, “We started to think there was a chance but we weren’t 100% sure until (the pick) right before. He was certainly in play with a lot of teams all through the draft. Once we knew he was there, it was a relatively easy choice for us. We had him at the top of the board of the guys we had remaining.”"

As Johnson put it, once the Milwaukee Brewers were on the clock and Mitchell was still available, they had a pretty easy choice to make. And it’s easy to see why.

Back in 2017, Mitchell was touted as one of the top high school prospects in the country and was selected in the 12th round of the draft by Oakland that year. However, it was Mitchell’s inconsistent swing and lack of power that knocked him down to Round 12 and those were two big reasons why he decided to head to UCLA.

Now three years later, it’s a move that clearly paid off.

According to MLB.com, they ranked Mitchell as the sixth-best prospect in this year’s draft class. Often when describing him, you’ll hear the terms “electric athlete” and “toolsy,” which means that he does everything quite well. Below are MLB.com’s Grades for Mitchell:

Hit: 60 / Power: 50 / Run: 70 / Arm: 60 / Field: 50 / Overall: 55

The 2019 season at UCLA was Mitchell’s breakout year where he’d slash .349/.418/.566 over 258 at-bats while being named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team as well as an All-American by NCBWA. And before the 2020 season was cut short, Mitchell was on pace for another outstanding season with a .355 average and .909 OPS.

So why did Mitchell fall all the way to the Brewers at pick 20? Well, there are two likely reasons.

The first being that Mitchell has Type-1 diabetes which was a concern for some organizations. However, where some see that as a disadvantage, Mitchell sees it as something that plays in his favor:

"“I took it as an advantage because I know how my body works,” Mitchell told reporters. “I know what I need to do to make it feel good. I know the amount of rest I need to be ready to play every day, the amount of nutrients that make me feel the best every day. That’s an advantage because a lot of people don’t know what their bodies need, but I can put myself in the best situation every single day when I go out on the field.”"

The other knock-on Mitchell is his power, or lack thereof. While it has improved during his time at UCLA, it hasn’t necessarily translated from batting practice into games. Over his three year career as a Bruin, Mitchell would hit only six home runs, all of which came in 2019.

But as Mitchell points out, as a leadoff hitter, strictly hitting for power isn’t what was asked of him:

"“But that was never the job coach (John) Savage asked of me, being in the leadoff spot. It was to put pressure on teams, to get on base, to cause havoc and help score runs, and help win games in whatever way I could. He would tell you I did the best job I possibly could at that.”"

Mitchell would then add:

"“Trying to hit home runs is a different approach at the plate. My goal has been to be a line-drive hitter, gap to gap, use the big part of the field and let my speed take care of the rest.”"

As is the case for any draft pick, there are always going to be parts of their game to work on, but for Brewers fans, they should be thrilled to have Mitchell as a part of the organization. Whether it’s at the plate, on the bases, or in the field, Mitchell can do it all and at a high-level.

For some different perspectives and a closer look at Mitchell’s game, here is what a handful of draft analysts had to say about the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers (via Mymlbdraft.com).

MLB.com

"“Mitchell has made real strides with his swing, one of the concerns when he was coming out of high school. He hit consistently for the first time in 2019 and he was doing it again during his junior season. He showed plus power in BP and his ability to transfer that to games makes him one of the top picks in the country.”"

Carlos Collazo – Baseball America

"“Mitchell shows massive, plus-plus raw power in batting practice, but his choppy swing produces mostly grounders and low line drives in games. His natural feel for contact gives him a chance to be an above-average or better hitter, and his natural speed and elite times out of the box should help inflate his batting average.”"

Ian Smith – Prospect 365

"“A game-changer with a truly-elite speed tool, Mitchell is capable of making a legitimate impact on the bases while also being a plus defender in center field. The UCLA product has a swing that can create easy raw power from the left side, but he sometimes relies on his upper body too much, which suppresses his power from reaching its potential in-game.”"

Dan Zielinski – Baseball Prospect Journal

"“He is an above-average defensive player, possessing elite speed and solid arm strength. He has the chance to hit for average and power in pro ball with his quick left-handed swing while also using his speed to steal bases.”"

Athlon Sports

"“Tools-wise, Mitchell has a strong case as the highest-upside hitter in the 2020 college draft class. He’s a speedster who has a chance to hit for power and hit for average as well.”"

With Round 1 of the 2020 MLB Draft in the books, the remaining four rounds will take place Thursday night. So be sure to check back for a closer look at the prospects that the Milwaukee Brewers select in Rounds 2 through 5.