PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – You wouldn’t blame him if he were upset. A second-round pick in 2017 coming off a solid season in AA, outfielder Cal Mitchell was left off the Pirates 40-man roster this offseason. Tuesday, he made his MLB debut.
He admits not being thought of as a Top 40 player in the organization this Winter motivated him. Mitchell said he’s not sure if its as much a ‘chip on his shoulder’ as it was a ‘watch what I can do’. And look what he’s done.
The left-hand hitter sitting with a .306 average in AAA this year with nine doubles, five home runs and 26 RBI. This following a .279 average with 20 doubles, 12 homers and 61 RBI last season. You may not have heard about him because of all the attention on AA stars Oneil Cruz, Contreras, Rodolfo Castillo or Mason Martin.
“Consistency of his at-bats (is) the one thing that stood out,” said Pirates Manager Derek Shelton. “Down at Indy, he's probably had the most consistent at-bats. He's played well, defensively.
He kind of epitomizes everything we talked about, like we talk about Gamel backing up bases, doing little things, just being the complete outfielder. Cal does all these things and is very deserving.”
“Anytime you have a situation when you have a guy who's not on your roster, and you add him to your roster that shows you that he has done all the things that we've challenged him on and deserves to get the opportunity in the big leagues.”
“To his credit, we made a decision on the roster last winter where he wasn’t added, and he responded to that exactly the way you would want a young player to respond,” said Pirates GM Ben Cherington on Tuesday, adding he was excited for Mitchell. “He’s busted his tail. He was disappointed, as you would expect he would be. Busted his tail every day since. Has turned himself into a better player.”
“I’ve been able to set myself up in a good spot to hit almost every time,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes I was a little bit tough early in my career, just being a kid. I would get out of position and it made it a little harder to see the ball. I found a good spot to be in where I’m comfy in the box and I can get there every time.”
Mitchell is hitting eighth in his first major league game against Colorado Tuesday, while his dad couldn’t make it, he said the two had an emotional phone call. He was also about to share it with the rest of his family, along with his little brother. Mitchell’s dad was his coach for a number of his growing years and Cal said he screamed at the top of his lungs upon hearing the news.
While not able to see him on Tuesday, he will get to this weekend. The timing worked out that Mitchell was recalled just before the team heads to his native San Diego this weekend.
“You couldn’t draw it up any better,” Mitchell said. “It’s wonderful. I get to go to Petco Park. I spent so many days as a kid there watching games, getting to go to tournaments.”
“It’s a dream come true.”