Pirates Transactions
Report: Pirates Call Up OF Cal Mitchell From AAA Indianapolis
For the third time in the last 48 hours, the Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted a prospect from AAA Indianapolis.
Following the recalls of top pitching prospects Roansy Contreras and Yerry De Los Santos, the Pirates are promoting a bat from Indianapolis.
The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel is reporting that the Pirates have called up outfielder Cal Mitchell. Since he’s not on the 40-man roster, the Pirates will need to make a corresponding move.
The 23-year-old Mitchell was the Pirates 2nd Round Pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. Entering this season, Mitchell wasn’t among the Pirates top prospects, ranking only No. 22 by Baseball America, No. 25 by MLB.com and No. 37 by FanGraphs.
However, Mitchell’s start to the 2022 season has earned him his first stint in the big leagues. In 34 games and 138 plate appearances, the left-handed hitter is .307 with 5 HR, 9 2B, 26 RBI’s and 6 SB. Mitchell has a .362 OBP, 500 Slugging %, and a .862 OPS. Mitchell has made a big improvement on cutting down on his strikeouts, cutting down his strikeout pct from 22.4% last year to 14.5% this season.
Last season with Altoona, Mitchell hit .280, 12 HR, 61 RBI and had a .759 OPS.
Although he’s capable of playing all three outfield spots, Mitchell has spent the most time playing right field.
While nothing is official from the Pirates, Mitchell could be a replacement for rookie Jack Suwinski, who’s hitting just .182 since being recalled.