How Can The Brewers Create Playing Time For Garrett Mitchell?

I wrote recently about the improvements Garrett Mitchell had shown during his rehab assignment at Triple-A Nashville this year that may indulge a slightly higher level of optimism about the consistency in his bat. He’s a high-octane player with a higher ceiling than either Blake Perkins or Sal Frelick, but both of the current center fielders have been productive of late, so how could Mitchell gain playing time early on?

Well, first of all (and fairly basically, as commentary goes), he’s going to have to earn his way. An above-average bat will go a long way toward that, and he’ll need to show himself as being more than just a defensive replacement or a pinch-runner. That could come in a number of different forms, but each comes with its own question marks. In reality, the most likely will be a combination of the below, and I’m not sure (with Mitchell's pedigree) that you can leave him in a bench role like Tyler Black was given, with minimal usage. The other factor to consider is that Mitchell will likely be eased in slowly, and we’ll see something of a playoff in the outfield over the next month as they jostle for playing time.

Does Blake Perkins Lose Playing Time?
Perkins has 1.7 bWAR at the halfway point in the season, on pace for around 3.5 WAR overall, and this is based mainly on roughly league-average offense combined with exceptional defense in center field. Perkins has been a star so far this year, although largely an unheralded one, but as a smaller-name guy who could be due for regression, he may be the player relegated to a fourth or fifth outfielder role. 

The other side of the coin here is that Perkins is the only outfielder (besides Jackson Chourio) who can hit right-handed. Given the Brewers' platooning so far this season, it seems fairly safe to assume he’ll see a majority of playing time against left-handers going forward, but his time against righties could be squeezed. That would sting a bit, because Perkins is a better hitter from the left side, facing righties. On a team with fewer options in the outfield, Perkins would be an undeniable starter in the outfield, and it seems almost cruel to reduce his playing time given how valuable he's been to the Brewers in the first half of the season. He'll have to fight for his place once again, after coming out victorious earlier in the season in a playing-time battle with Frelick.

The Sal Frelick Conundrum
Another topic covered on Friday, Frelick has been an on-base machine over the last few weeks and is hitting .268 on the season now. He’s getting on base at a solid clip, but is still only at a 0.9 WAR and 93 OPS+ because of an almost total lack of extra-base power. Some subpar outfield reads have impacted his defensive metrics, too. No one ever really expected more than 15 home runs per season from Frelick, but they would have expected more hard line drives into the gaps for doubles and triples; he just hasn’t hit the ball hard enough to bring that to fruition. In the last 30 days, he has an average exit velocity of just 81 mph and a 15.2% hard-hit rate, though he is (at least) beginning to elevate the ball a bit more frequently. Frelick did show some higher exit velocities in the minor leagues, but has struggled to show any of this since the start of 2023--perhaps as a lingering effect of the torn thumb ligament that got that season off to a lousy start for him. The lack of playable pop could put his spot in some danger, if his BABIP luck regresses somewhat and his batting average declines alongside it.

The other occasional option (and you wouldn’t want to see this too often given his early success) is the possibility of Frelick appearing at third base every now and then, to get Joey Ortiz off his feet (off his neck?) and add another lefty to the lineup. That's more an occasional thought to keep Frelick in the lineup, or even give him opportunities off the bench, while not overworking Ortiz in his first full season in the majors. It could allow the Brewers (as a whole) to be slightly fresher come the clutch days in September and October.

Jackson Chourio Can’t See A Playing Time Reduction… Right?
Jackson Chourio showed immense improvements in June, cutting his swinging strike rate down to below 10% with an OPS of almost .900 and an ISO of .219. He’s showing power and contact skills in spades, while seemingly getting better with each passing game. It's no stretch to say that CHourio could be a vital point of difference for this Brewers offense come October, and the more games he gets, the more ready he’ll be for those big moments.

Defensively, he’s been improving as well, with great routes and a more confident persona in right field of late, so it may be hard to dislodge the young phenom. That being said, he’s just 20 years old, in his first full season in the major leagues. As such, the occasional day off may not be too much to his detriment in the long run. The pace at which he’s learning is freakish, but it’s important to give little instances where he can breathe and take in those things he’s learned, which isn’t a luxury afforded to someone playing 162 games a year.

As mentioned earlier, we're likely to see a combination of the above scenarios to get Mitchell some playing time early and see if he forces his way from there into more at-bats at the business end of the season. Most of that will come from Frelick and Perkins resting on occasion, while also using Christian Yelich's DH days to spread around some extra plate appearances, and then a smidgeon of time from Chourio sitting out every once in a while and Frelick occasionally getting at bats covering third base. The versatility gives Pat Murphy just enough room to maneuver, and get everyone the playing time to make a case, but it will be a melee that won’t likely continue into September. There is a high likelihood of an outfielder being involved in a trade should the Brewers be active at the deadline, but for now, it’s exciting to see just what Mitchell can do starting with covering the vast grass of Coors Field.