Brewers Draft: Crew Selects UCLA OF Garrett Mitchell In First Round

The Milwaukee Brewers have made their selection in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft.

In a wild and interesting first round of the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers have got their guy in outfielder Garrett Mitchell from UCLA.

This is a very exciting pick with a lot of upside for the Brewers.

Garrett Mitchell, OF, UCLA

Surprise, surprise. The Milwaukee Brewers take a toolsy outfielder in Garrett Mitchell. He has some of the highest upside in this draft class with MLB Pipeline ranking him as the No. 6 overall prospect in this class. The Brewers were able to take him with the 20th pick. That’s quite the value. However, there must be some reason that Mitchell fell this far, and there is.

While the tools have obviously been there, they haven’t shown up in games quite yet. He has huge raw power, but he only hit six home runs in three seasons for UCLA.

Mitchell has a 60-grade hit tool, which ranks as one of the best in the entire draft class, and he also has 70-grade speed. That is elite level speed. He has the defensive ability to stick in centerfield in the long run.

He also has a strong throwing arm and is solid defensively. Mitchell might have the best combination of tools in this draft. He’s also a left-handed hitter which will help his power and hit tools play up in the hitter-friendly Miller Park.

In 15 games this year, Mitchell hit .355/.393/.478 for the Bruins. His sophomore year was far more successful. In 2019, he hit .349/.418/.566 with 14 doubles, 12 triples, and six home runs. On top of that, he stole 18 bases.

There was a lot of pitching that was still on the board with the 20th overall pick, but the Brewers went with the falling Garrett Mitchell, getting what could be a major steal at that point in the first round.

If those tools can all start to arrive in game and he puts it all together, Mitchell has some star potential. The Brewers are deep in the outfield and get even deeper. David Stearns can’t help himself when it comes to toolsy outfielders.

The Brewers clearly believe that Mitchell will put all those tools together. There’s a good chance Mitchell can sign for a bit below slot and the Brewers might be able to use the savings in later rounds.

The Brewers draft class will continue to fill out tomorrow as they add four more players to the organization.