Garrett

Mitchell

Mitchell will get a rare day off with left-hander Kyle Freeland toeing the slab for the Rockies on Sunday afternoon. Luis Lara will start in his place in center field and will bat seventh for the Brewers on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.

Mitchell has hit in seven straight games and is batting .411/.459/.979 in 15 games this month. It’s too bad for his fantasy value that he’s not stealing more bases — today’s was his first in two months — but since that would add to the injury risk, it’s really not worth it for him right now. The important thing is keeping him in the lineup. Since debuting in 2022, he’s been worth 5.5 bWAR in a bit less than a season and a half of playing time (763 plate appearances, 229 games).

Mitchell was the hero in this extra-innings affair. He delivered the game-winning hit with two-strikes in the 10th inning and made two other fantastic plays in center field to keep this game going just beforehand. It’s just more great baseball for Mitchell who’s in the midst of the best stretch of his career with a .323/.381/.563 slash line over his last 30 games. Also very importantly for Mitchell, his strikeout rate has held firm below 30% over the span which doesn’t sound great, but is lower than his season average by a few percentage points.

Chourio takes a seat after going just 3-for-21 during a five-game series against the division-rival Cardinals earlier this week. The 22-year-old franchise cornerstone will get a bit of a mental reset break in the front-end of the twin bill and figures to return for Saturday’s evening showdown at PNC Park. It’ll be rookie Luis Lara taking over in left field with Garrett Mitchell hitting second in the opening contest.

Mitchell got his on a day where the rest of the Brewers’ lineup was mostly shut out. The double was his seventh extra-base hit since the start of July and he ripped it 112 mph. He had another batted ball at 111 mph in this one and is completely locked in at the plate right now with a sensational .993 OPS over his last 30 games.

Mitchell opened the scoring in the contest as he ambushed a first-pitch cutter from Jose Cabrera for a 435-foot (111.8-mph EV) two-run shot in the second inning. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. For the season, the 27-year-old outfielder is slashing .265/.362/.462 with eight long balls, 42 RBI and six stolen bases in 272 plate appearances.

Mitchell didn’t start against a lefty, but he entered in the ninth, only to grab his leg and struggle through his one at-bat. Fortunately, it seems like he’ll be fine going forward.

Both Mitchell and Brice Turang went 2-for-3 with a homer in the contest, while everyone else on the Brewers finished 0-for-22. Mitchell’s homer off Hunter Gaddis left his bat at 111.8 mph and projected at 440 feet. Consistent contact might forever elude him, but that’s the kind of thing he can do when he connects. He’s worth playing in mixed leagues while healthy and starting regularly.

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.