Scouting report: Brewers' Garrett Mitchell

MiLB.com introduces a new series spotlighting players who are just starting their professional careers, focusing on what the experts are projecting for these young phenoms. Here's a look at top-ranked Brewers prospect Garrett Mitchell. For more player journeys on The Road to The Show, click here.

The Brewers were thrilled when Garrett Mitchell fell to them at No. 20 overall in last year’s Draft, and the excitement within the organization for its top prospect has been amped all the way up following his showing in the Cactus League this spring.

It was a long time coming for fans, coaches and Mitchell. The 22-year-old was limited to 15 games during his junior season at UCLA because of the coronavirus pandemic and then did not participate at Milwaukee’s alternate training site. Mitchell's first taste of the pros in last year’s fall instructional league was also cut short to just four games because of a minor quadriceps injury. But he more than made up for lost time across 22 games this spring -- mostly off the bench -- posting a .367/.406/.567 slash line with a homer, a triple, a double, seven runs, six RBIs, three stolen bases and a pair of walks.

Garrett Mitchell is one of only four MLB prospects with a hit tool of 55+, a power tool of 50+ and a run tool of 70+. The @Brewers' 2020 first-rounder out of @UCLABaseball shows off those tools here. pic.twitter.com/Lg7NgGBRGF

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 27, 2021

“You think there would be some rust there,” Brewers regional scouting supervisor Josh Belovsky told MLB.com last month. He's kept tabs on Mitchell since he played for the Milwaukee’s Area Codes team in California. “That’s impressive what he’s doing. He’s such a freaky athlete. That’s the one thing I could always say about this guy.”

Belovsky went on to draw a comparison between the native of Orange, California, and the organization’s second-ranked prospect Brice Turang.

“They’re guys who are humble, but they are also confident, if that makes sense,” he said. “It’s like a young [Ryan] Braun, they think they belong here. I think that’s half the battle.”

But more than just a sense of belonging may be fueling the left-handed-hitting slugger’s early success. Mitchell entered the 2020 Draft as MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 overall Draft prospect. During his sophomore season at UCLA, the speedy outfielder recorded a slash line of .349/.418/.566 with six dingers, set a school record with 12 triples, scored 57 times, drove in 41 runs and was named to the first team in the All-Pac-12 Conference as well as an All-American and an ABCA Gold Glove finalist. Even during his shortened junior campaign, Mitchell started all 15 of the Bruins’ games in center and batted leadoff. He hit .355 and sported a .909 OPS with a triple and six doubles in 62 at-bats.

Still, the No. 56 overall prospect slid down draft boards. And he hasn’t forgotten.

“I ended up in the place and with the organization that wanted me the most,” Mitchell told MLB.com. “Trust me, I know the teams, I know the players that went before me. I keep that in the back of my mind as a little bit of fuel to know never to be satisfied. I try not to focus too much on that, but it’s definitely a nice reminder to know that every day you go out there, you’re -- for the most part -- facing a team that decided to skip out on you.”

#Brewers 2020 first-rounder Garrett Mitchell picks up his fourth hit of Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/oha4J2Gp1h

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 9, 2021

The belief around the league and among Draft experts is that Mitchell’s medical history may have had something to do with that. Mitchell was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9 and has been managing the condition since.

“That was the only reason we had a chance to get him, that teams weren’t comfortable with that,” Belovsky said. “We had done a lot of work back when he was in high school on that because there weren’t a lot of everyday players who had Type 1. But we did work on his routine and went as extensive as what we could do on the road and all those things. It was a lot of legwork that [Brewers’ longtime medical director Roger Caplinger] and his team put into it. The groundwork had been laid three to four years ago.”

The early returns have been bullish. In his first Cactus League plate appearance on Feb. 26, Mitchell hammered a ball at 109.7 mph for a base hit in the seventh inning of the Brewers’ 7-1 victory over the D-backs.

First round pick @GarretMitchell5 gets a hit in his first Spring Training at-bat. Brewers are up 7-1. pic.twitter.com/pl2cRKzbrY

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) March 1, 2021

The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder mashed his first (unofficial) dinger two weeks later, a solo blast to the deepest part of the park in right-center as part of his first multi-hit performance. Mitchell hit safely in 10 of his 22 spring games and finished with a .973 OPS.

Garrett Mitchell continued his torrid spring with his first homer -- this moonshot to center.

The #Brewers first-rounder is 6-for-12 over 10 Cactus League games 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Yl4iGWoelY

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 13, 2021

“I think it’s the idea that I’m not satisfied,” he said. “There’s way more to go.”

Mitchell was recently assigned to start the 2021 campaign with the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He's scheduled to play in his first Minor League game on May 4.

“Yeah, he feels a little slighted,” Belovsky said. “We’re OK with that.”