Pirates A to Z: Cal Mitchell played with a chip on his shoulder, broke up no-hit bid

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z: An alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Miguel Andujar to pitcher Miguel Yajure.

Player: Cal Mitchell

Position: Outfielder

Bats: Left

Throws: Left

Age: 23 (March 8)

Height: 6 foot

Weight: 205 pounds

2022 MLB statistics: Slashed .226/.286/.349 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 17 RBIs in 69 games.

Contract: Not yet eligible for arbitration.

Acquired: Selected in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft.

This past season: The Pirates raised eyebrows when they left Mitchell, a top-25 prospect, off their 40-man roster last year and unprotected against the Rule 5 Draft.

To say that motivated Mitchell is an understatement.

“The end goal didn’t change,” he said, “because I had that one speed bump.”

In 34 games at Triple-A Indianapolis, Mitchell slashed .306/.362/.500 with nine doubles, five home runs and 26 RBIs. He had 11 multiple-hit games, including a pair of three-hit performances.

“I don’t know if you want to call it a chip on your shoulder,” Mitchell said. “There is a sense of, ‘OK, now watch what I can do.’ For sure.”

The Pirates promoted Mitchell on May 24 as much out of desperation as anything. They were down to three healthy outfielders when designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach went on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, so Mitchell got his opportunity to make his major league debut.

Mitchell got his first hit, an RBI single to score Diego Castillo, in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies. The next day, Mitchell hit an RBI double to score Jack Suwinski in a 10-5 win over the Rockies.

That was followed by a homecoming for Mitchell, as the Pirates went on a West Coast swing that started in San Diego. Mitchell had played at Petco Park before, as he finished runner-up to Hunter Greene — the Cincinnati Reds right-hander who tossed a combined no-hitter against the Pirates on May 15 — at the Perfect Game All-American Classic Home Run Derby in 2016. But he was thrilled to do so as a big leaguer.

Even before his MLB debut, Pirates rookie outfielder Cal Mitchell was excited about the prospect of returning to his hometown of San Diego to play the Padres at Petco Park this weekend. pic.twitter.com/Ijnar3UuEu

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) May 27, 2022

“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.”

His first homer came after that road trip, against Arizona’s Zac Gallen on a two-strike curveball 370 feet over the Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park in a 2-for-3 effort.

Mitchell’s best moment came under the most pressure-packed circumstance. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas was one strike away from throwing a no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader against the Pirates on June 14 when Mitchell hit his 129th pitch, a 2-2 curveball, for a double that bounced over the center field wall.

“We’re going to have a ton of learning moments,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “This was a big one and big one for Cal Mitchell, who came into the game late and was able to get a big knock.”

Cal Mitchell breaks up Miles Mikolas’s no-hit bid with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th inning. pic.twitter.com/sWdT5BDmbL

— Lunch Break Baseball (@LunchBreakBB) June 15, 2022

Mitchell replaced Bryan Reynolds in the bottom of the seventh inning, and came to bat knowing that history was on the line.

“I just tried to take some deep breaths,” Mitchell said. “The crowd was loud. They were all rooting for their guy. I’m glad I was able to settle myself down enough to have a composed at-bat and come through.”

Mitchell bounced back and forth between the Pirates and Indianapolis, as his batting average dipped below .200. After a red-hot August, he was recalled Sept. 1 and finished the season in Pittsburgh.

“I feel calmer, a little less jittery as the first few weeks here,” Mitchell said. “I feel like I have a better idea of the flow of what goes on and how I want to attack days.

“It’s good. You can’t ever get tired of success, as they say. I was feeling good, making sure that I hit on the points that the leadership here asked me to do. I tried to do that every day until I made my way here.”

Cal Mitchell outta nowhere ???? pic.twitter.com/l9DhZXgUz5

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 16, 2022

The future: The Pirates challenged Mitchell to be more consistent at the plate, imploring upon him the need as a corner outfielder to be a hitter.

Mitchell also needs to improve his defense, given that fly balls could be an adventure for him in right field. The Pirates frequently used defensive replacements for Mitchell in the late innings; of the 50 games Mitchell started in right, he finished 35.

Mitchell did nothing to secure a starting job in the outfield for next season — those spots likely belong to Reynolds, Suwinski and Miguel Andujar, at the moment — so he’ll likely be competing to be the fourth outfielder next season.

But Mitchell had nine multi-hit games, including three-hit performances against playoff teams in Philadelphia and St. Louis, and showed that he’s one of a handful of Pirates rookies whose bat can play against major league pitching.

“We’re all great friends with each other and all have been fighting our way up here as long as we’ve been Pirates,” Mitchell said. “It’s so cool to be here together now. … It’s the future. It’s the new wave. We’re all trying to come up here and learn as fast as we can so we can add value to the team as fast as we can.”