Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential Future For These Players

Cal Mitchell

Like Triolo, outfielder Cal Mitchell has consistently posted average or better numbers in the minor leagues. He has spent most of his season at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he has excelled. Mitchell has hit .324/.380/.512 with career-best power numbers. Mitchell has never posted a slugging percentage above .430 in the past but now sits at .512. It’s also the first time his ISO has peaked over .155.

Mitchell is hitting for more power but hasn’t sold out for it either. Despite the career-best power numbers, he also has a career-best 14.8% K-rate. He’s never walked much, and a 7% BB% is nothing out of the ordinary for Mitchell. But overall, he has a .389 wOBA and 136 wRC+.

Mitchell has already played a handful of games in the major leagues, appearing in 44 contests and stepping to the plate 146 times. He didn’t do all that great, though, having just a .577 OPS, .252 wOBA, and 60 wRC+. But there were a few positives. Mitchell showed off decent raw power with a 90 MPH exit velocity and 40% hard-hit rate, and a .245 batting average on balls in play did the young outfielder no favors.

The Pirates have a ton of young outfielders in the system and in the majors. Bryan Reynolds is up in the major leagues, but the aforementioned Travis Swaggerty and Ji-Hwan Bae are having solid campaigns at Triple-A. Jack Suwinski also did solid for the Bucs earlier this year with great outfield defense. Canaan Smith-Njigba will also return next season. Not to mention other outfield capable prospects like Tucupita Marcano, Endy Rodriguez, and even Jared Triolo.

Mitchell has shown talent at the major league level. He isn’t a great fielder but has the potential to be a solid platoon outfielder/DH option for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team doesn’t have a permanent answer at designated hitter, so he could be an option there against RHP and occasionally give a corner outfielder a day off.