Pittsburgh Pirates: Calvin Mitchell off to a Hot Start

The Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates are about a full month into their season.  One of the top outfield prospects is off to a great start.

In 2017, the Pittsburgh Pirates took two high school outfielders in the second round.  They took Calvin Mitchell with their true second-round pick and took Conner Uselton with their supplemental second round pick.

Although Uselton was taken about 20 picks after Mitchell, he was the higher ranked prospects. There were questions about Mitchell and whether he would be able to make enough contact to reach his potential.

Well, it looks like the Pittsburgh Pirates knew exactly what they were doing when they drafted Mitchell 50th overall.  The left-handed hitting outfielder has been the main piece in the High-A Bradenton Marauders’ lineup.  He is currently hitting .303 with a .328 on-base percentage and a strong .513 slugging.  In his 29 games, he has five home runs, two triples, and six doubles.  However, he has struck out 29 times, so he is averaging one strikeout per game.

Mitchell is currently ranked on our list as the Pittsburgh Pirates number six prospect.  He also has been noted by many major sites as a potential Top 100 prospect by the end of this season.  This is mainly because of how he has performed this year in addition to how he played last year.

At Low-A West Virginia last season, Mitchell hit a solid .280/.344/.427 with 10 home runs and 42 total extra-base hits across 119 games.  This was somewhat of a breakout season for Mitchell and put him on the map as a legitimate prospect.

If Mitchell continues to impress in the early going this year, he should be bumped up to Double-A Altoona sooner than later.  He is consistently driving in runs and hitting for power.  This is something that the Pittsburgh Pirates lack in the current offense.  While he is a ways off from the actual Pittsburgh Pirates, Mitchell is definitely a prospect who is worth keeping up with going forward.