Brewers Minor League Spring Training report

Garrett Mitchell needs little introduction around Minor League camp these days. Few first-rounders do.

The former UCLA star was taken 20th overall by the Brewers last year because of his 70-grade speed, plus defensive ability when it comes to his glove and arm in the outfield and promising overall hit tool from the left side. Ranked as MLB Pipeline's No. 6 talent in the 2020 Draft class, Mitchell could have gone much higher, if not for his Type 1 diabetes that may have scared off higher-picking organizations. As if that reputation and scouting report weren't enough, Mitchell hit .367/.406/.567 with three extra-base hits and three steals over 22 games in the Cactus League in February and March.

If anyone in the Brewers organization was unclear as to how his skill set would play before he reaches the Minors, they certainly have a pretty big clue now.

"He continues to do things that our coaches have started to see now pretty regularly," said Brewers vice president of Minor League operations Tom Flanagan. "It'll be a more or less routine ball to short, and at worst, it's a bang-bang play. Sometimes, he'll beat those out. His speed, the bat skills that he brings, all of our guys are excited about moving forward with him."

All of that came from relatively out in the open during Mitchell's time as a non-roster invitee in Major League camp. Since that time, the Brewers have done their best to keep the outfielder's momentum going, first with a move north to the alternate site in Appleton, Wisc. -- not because he's likely to be at Triple-A to open his first Minor League season but rather because it was the only place he could maintain his hot streak.

"We thought, hey, let's get him to the alternate site briefly, at least until Minor League games begin," Flanagan said. "He'd already gone through the general Spring Training build up, the monotony of the drills. Just to keep him more game-ready, we sent him there, got him some at-bats and game reps. Then, we had him come back down just before Minor League games began, so he could hit the ground running."

Since those contests started for the Brewers last Wednesday, Mitchell has been featured regularly in center field and the leadoff spot for the High-A Wisconsin club that has faced other Minor Leaguers from the Dodgers, Giants and Mariners systems. Milwaukee has cautioned, however, this far out from Opening Day that it's still not locked in that their top prospect will open in the new-look High-A Central circuit. For what it's worth, Mitchell did get in one game with Double-A Biloxi last week as well, still hitting first in the lineup and playing center. No matter with whom he's playing, the ex-Bruin has looked his same offensive and defensive self from earlier in the spring.

"I would say just his at-bats have been really good," Flanagan said. "He'll take a swing at the first pitch here and there, but it seems like he's got a really strong plan when he goes up to the plate in terms of working pitches to get the pitch he can handle. When he doesn't get it, more often than not he'll still put a pretty good swing on it."

At this point, it's not about making the Brewers comfortable with Mitchell. It's about making the player comfortable within the organization that drafted him and will now try to develop him into a multi-tool star at the top level.

"You know the skill is there," Flanagan said. "He's not gonna disappoint from that area. We want to get him around our staff, get those conversations taking place early, so we can bring [that level of comfort] back to whatever club he goes to to start the season."

Camp standout
No. 14 prospect Carlos Rodriguez would have been a must-follow in the Milwaukee system during a normal 2020 season. The outfielder lacks major size at 5-foot-10 and a listed 150 pounds, but he makes up for that with an above-average hit tool that he exhibited at every stop since signing for $1.355 million out of Venezuela in July 2017. To that point, he is a career .327 hitter over 104 career games in the Minors and produced a .331/.350/.424 line in 36 contests at his last stop at Rookie Advanced Rocky Mountain in 2019.

That ability to make consistent hard contact hasn't changed following the off year.

"He's got that magic wand, I guess, where everything he hits just [falls in]," Flanagan said. "Pole to pole, he sprays the ball, and he's starting to show some surprising little pop in there."

It's that power that will be a point of emphasis for Rodriguez going forward. The left-handed slugger has hit only five homers over two Minor League seasons, in part because of his size and also due to his compact swing that generates more line drives than fly balls. Flanagan noted that as Rodriguez's body matures, there could be more power in the tank once he finally reaches full-season ball.

Alternate training site update
The last time Mario Feliciano was on a Minor League field, he was winning a Carolina League MVP award for his offensive prowess. The right-handed-hitting catcher put up a .273/.324/.477 line with 19 homers in 116 games for Class A Advanced Carolina, exhibiting the type of above-average power that earned him a place on the 40-man roster last November.

Because of that roster status, Feliciano finds himself in Appleton with the alternate-site club ahead of his age-22 season. Though he's one of five catchers on the 40-man, the 2016 75th overall pick has the bat that could push him to Milwaukee at some point this summer, but it'll be his glovework behind the plate that will determine his place in the Brewers' long-term future. Getting to work with so many pitchers in a concentrated environment like the Wisconsin alt site is one crash course in that department.

"I think we've been always pretty bullish on his defensive abilities," Flanagan said. "That said, the bat was noticeably ahead of the defense. Now that he's been back there for a number of years with us, he receives the ball really well, can steal a few strikes. I think he's continued to make some progress in that area. I think he's gonna be just solid across the board in terms of receiving skills, throwing and everything."

Flanagan also highlighted No. 24 prospect and 2016 fifth overall pick Corey Ray as a player who is coming around in Wisconsin. The Brewers executive said the outfielder has made it a priority to improve his decision-making on swings after a 2019 season in which he fanned in 36.3 percent of his plate appearances. Ray has the power and speed to play a Major League role in his age-26 campaign but won't be able to make the most of either unless he improves his 40-grade hit tool.

Prospect we'll be talking about in 2022
As the No. 3 prospect in the system, Hedbert Perez is very much a name Brewers fans will know, but the 2021 season could be the time when he makes the leap into more national conversations.

Signed for $700,000 out of Venezuela in July 2019, the outfielder was already part of the alternate-site group last year as Milwaukee wanted to see how his left-handed bat would play against much more advanced arms. He held his own well enough to earn another invite to Minor League mini-camp back in February, and he appeared in three Cactus League games.

Perez, who only just turned 18 on April 4, showed big-time power in batting practice sessions in 2020, but in games, his above-average hit tool might be a touch above the pop. His other three skills in terms of running, fielding and arm strength are all above-average to plus, making him a real five-tool threat as he gains professional experience for the first time. The Brewers are still sketching out whether that will come at the complex-level Arizona League or Low-A Carolina, but the fact that Perez is even a consideration for a jump to full-season ball speaks to the progress he could further make in the coming months.

"In terms of some of the boxes to check from a maturity standpoint, we would have no reservations [about seeing him in Low-A]," Flanagan said. "I think he's put himself in a position where he's gonna force us to make the decision at some point to send him there, but we're still debating whether that's Opening Day or whether it's happening down the line."

In the Dominican
The Brewers traditionally have rotated in players from their facility in the Dominican Republic to the Spring Training complex in Arizona in order to get a closer look at them before deciding if such prospects will open with a stateside club or in the Dominican Summer League. That is still happening this spring, albeit at a smaller scale with about 30 players coming over at a time, only to be replaced with 30 more players in the Dominican Republic who couldn't be there due to distancing requirements.

No. 15 prospect Jackson Chourio is in Arizona now as part of that process. Milwaukee signed the 17-year-old shortstop for $1.8 million in January, making him their top name in this year's international class. Chourio is a plus runner with a good arm on the infield and has the chance to be an above-average hitter from the right side. The Brewers are still evaluating whether they want to start his career at the lowest rung of the Minors or get aggressive with him out of the chute.

"He's definitely that high-ceiling type that we want to accelerate a little bit if possible," Flanagan said.