Garrett

Mitchell

Mitchell probably should get more days off than most regulars, just because of his injury history, but with the way he’s performing, he deserves to be ahead of Sal Frelick in line for starts when Jake Bauers is playing the outfield for the Brewers. He’s hitting .251/.355/.415, giving him 156 points of OPS over Frelick, who is at .229/.303/.310.

Mitchell figured to be in line to lose a fair amount of playing time after Christian Yelich and Andrew Vaughn came off the IL, but he’s put together a well-timed hot streak to remain in the lineup. He’s batting .333 with two homers and five walks in his last 13 games.

Mitchell’s home run was his third. He hit a three-run home run off Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez in the fifth inning. Mitchell continues to start in centerfield, but already has 60 strikeouts in 137 at-bats. He doesn’t have much value outside of deeper formats.

Mitchell has made three consecutive starts in center field, alleviating any lingering concerns for fantasy managers after missing time last week with back tightness. The 27-year-old remains one of the more intriguing talents in the game, but he’s striking out at an untenable clip, nearly 36 percent of the time this season, making him difficult to trust outside of extremely deep mixed leagues.

Mitchell exited Wednesday’s game against the Cubs with tightness in his back, and he hasn’t been able to return to the lineup. He’s considered day-to-day, but Jake Bauers gets the start in his absence.

Mitchell was 0-for-2 before being replaced by Blake Perkins in center field during the one-sided affair. It sounds like a relatively minor concern, but back issues can be complicated matters. He’ll have an off-day to rest up prior to Friday’s series opener against the Dodgers.

We didn’t know Mitchell had that in him; his previous career-high exit velocity was 112.6 mph from earlier this season. It was just his second homer of the year, though he does have 10 barrels. The Brewers had Andrew Vaughn hit for him against a lefty in the top of the eighth. Vaughn grounded out, and Mitchell’s absence proved costly in the bottom of the inning, when Jackson Chourio, who moved from left to center, couldn’t make a sliding catch on a Luke Keaschall triple that led to a Twins’ run.

According to Statcast, this would have been a two-homer game in Houston or Philadelphia. In Milwaukee, though, it was two two-baggers and, unfortunately, no runs scored or batted in. Mitchell’s playing time could be in question with Christian Yelich back, but since Yelich has sat out the last two games, it hasn’t been an issue yet. That Mitchell is the Brewers’ best center fielder helps his case for at-bats over Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn.

Tyler Black was sent down to make room. Yelich is back from a groin strain suffered exactly one month ago. He’ll surely DH most of the time for the Brewers, which will typically leave just one lineup spot for Garrett Mitchell and Jake Bauers against right-handers. That’ll have the Brewers picking between defense and offense, with Mitchell in center and Jackson Chourio in left or Chourio in center and Bauers in left. Bauers probably ought to be dropped in leagues in which he was picked up.

Mitchell was held out of Friday’s lineup after missing Wednesday’s game against the Cardinals due to illness. The 27-year-old outfielder was pressed into duty after Brandon Lockridge left the contest with a scary-looking knee injury following a collision with the left-field wall.