Milwaukee Brewers Call Up Former UCLA OF, Top Pick Garrett Mitchell
Another Bruin has been fast-tracked to the big leagues.
The Milwaukee Brewers announced a flurry of roster moves Saturday afternoon, culminating in former UCLA baseball outfielder Garrett Mitchell getting called up from Triple-A to join the major league roster. Outfielder Jonathan Davis was placed on the 10-day injured list, while catcher Alex Jackson was added to the 60-day injured list in order to make room for the former Bruin.
Mitchell will join the Brewers for their home series against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, and he will be making his MLB debut if he manages to see the field.
Milwaukee selected Mitchell with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft, making him UCLA's highest-selected position player since Chase Utley in 2000. Mitchell is currently ranked as the No. 5 prospect in Milwaukee's farm system, according to MLB.com.
Since joining the Brewers organization, Mitchell has put up big numbers at multiple levels. Mitchell hit .359 with an 1.128 OPS in High-A in 2021 before getting called up to Double-A and seeing his batting average plummet to .186.
Mitchell leveled out when he rejoined the Bloxi Shuckers in 2022, hitting .277 with a .781 OPS. After he was called up to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Mitchell hit .343 with a .901 OPS.
In 132 games of minor league ball, Mitchell is a career .273 hitter with an .802 OPS, 13 home runs, 64 RBI and 34 stolen bases.
Although Mitchell is set to make his big league debut in the coming days, it won't be the first time he has donned a Brewers jersey. Mitchell hit .367 with a homer, six RBI and a .973 OPS across 22 spring training games with Milwaukee in 2021. He once again earned the invite to spring training in 2022, hitting .500 with a 1.238 OPS in three games his second time around.
Mitchell put up big numbers before turning pro, too, winning home runs derbies and cementing himself as a top high school prospect in the country coming out of Orange Lutheran (CA). When he arrived at UCLA ahead of the 2018 season, Mitchell became an everyday member of the lineup and hit .280 while playing Gold Glove defense in the outfield.
Across his breakout 2019 campaign and COVID-shortened 2020 season, Mitchell hit .350 with 20 doubles, 13 triples, 50 RBI, six home runs and a .959 OPS in 77 games. Mitchell ended his college career with a .327/.393/.478 slash line.
That high-level production was enough to earn Mitchell multiple all-conference and All-American nods, plus a few school records, and it vaulted him back up the draft boards for the Brewers to pounce on.
Mitchell is just the seventh member of the 2020 MLB Draft class to reach the majors, and he will be the 88th player in UCLA baseball history to appear in a big league contest.
Every UCLA roster from 1965 to 2020 has had at least one future MLB player on it, with Mitchell extending a 56-year trend that isn't projected to slow down any time soon.
First pitch for the Brewers and Cubs is set for 4:10 p.m. Saturday, with the series finale Sunday set to start at 11:10 a.m.
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