Notes: Mitchell's spring debut; Piña swats HR

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After a summer at home and a fall instructional league that was limited to four games by a minor quadriceps injury, Garrett Mitchell, the Brewers' first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, finally found his way into a box score on Monday.

Mitchell played three innings in center field and singled in his first career Spring Training at-bat as the Brewers beat the D-backs, 7-1, at Salt River Fields. Even though it was an exhibition, would manager Craig Counsell call it a big day for Milwaukee's No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline?

“I think it was a fun day for him. These are fun days,” Counsell said. “This was his first Major League Spring Training game, first day playing in front of fans with a Brewers uniform on. I would say it was a fun day for him. Get some action. I think he had 3-4 fly balls and a nice at-bat for a base hit. It was probably a fun day more than anything.”

Mitchell, who said last week that his aim in camp is “soaking up the moment,” made loud contact. His seventh-inning hit off D-backs left-hander Taylor Guilbeau left the bat at 109.7 mph, according to Statcast. The only harder-hit ball in play in Monday's game was Daniel Vogelbach’s 112.1-mph groundout in the third inning.

The day’s loudest contact came from the bat of Manny Piña, whose two-hit afternoon began with a two-run home run in the first inning. It was Milwaukee’s fifth home run in its first seven Cactus League innings.

“I think we’ve had four guys who in their first Spring Training at-bat hit homers, which is pretty remarkable,” Counsell said. “Manny had a nice day swinging the bat. His second at-bat was every bit as good as the first. He fouled off some good pitches and got a pitch to hit for a ground ball up the middle, he hit that ball hard.”

Burnes brings heat
Corbin Burnes needed 14 pitches to dispatch his first three opposing hitters of the spring, logging a pair of strikeouts and a weak groundout to second base in the opening inning of the Brewers’ win on Monday. Burnes touched 98.2 mph with his sinker and 95.4 mph with his cutter while mixing in a handful of breaking balls as low as 83.7 mph. Burnes is coming off a sixth-place finish in National League Cy Young Award voting last season.

"Early on here in camp, the focus is going to be hammering on the sinker and mixing in that fourth and fifth pitch, the curveball and the changeup,” Burnes said. “So today, we kind of had a heavy focus on the sinker and wanted to make sure to mix in a couple of curveballs."

Does Burnes think playing in front of fans will make a difference in 2021 performance?

"It might,” Burnes said. “I think it depends on the guy. A lot of guys draw their energy and adrenaline from the fans, so that definitely could impact those kinds of players. For myself, I don't need the fan noise and other outside influence to get the energy and the adrenaline going, but it's definitely something that could affect some performance."

Walk of Fame shutout
For the third straight year, no candidates received the requisite 65 percent support in balloting for the club’s Walk of Fame, an installation that rings the ballpark and honors the best players and most notable executives in Milwaukee Braves and Brewers history.

Voters, who include a mix of media and club officials, have been stingy since letting in Geoff Jenkins in 2018 as the 20th member of the Walk of Fame. The top vote-getters this time were Ben Sheets, who just missed out after appearing on 63.4 percent of ballots, Ben Oglivie at 58.5 and Ted Simmons, who will be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, at 51.2. Other candidates included Mike Caldwell, the franchise’s all-time leader in complete games whose 22 wins in 1978 remain a club record, and George Bamberger, the beloved manager who helped turn the Brewers into a contender in the late 1970s.

The Brewers announced that Carlos Gómez, Yovani Gallardo and Francisco Rodríguez will be inducted into the Wall of Honor, a separate installation that recognizes players based on length of service and certain statistical achievements. Gómez will retire as a Brewer during a ceremony at a date to be announced later, the club announced.

Additionally, the Brewers and the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association will induct the late Wes Covington onto the Milwaukee Braves Wall of Honor during the 2022 season.

Last call
• Right-hander Brandon Woodruff is on track to pitch later this week after a minor bout with a stiff back following his session pitching live batting practice on Thursday. Counsell called the issue minor, saying, “We’re maybe 2-3 days behind is what I would tell you. … We built space into Woody’s schedule. In fact, he came into camp ahead of schedule, actually. You try to build in space in case things like this happen.”

• Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann threw 27 pitches and recorded two outs in the third inning Monday before his inning was cut short, one of the amended rules available to managers this spring. Counsell said Zimmermann is working on a two-seam fastball in camp, a pitch that Zimmermann used with increased frequency from 2018 (2.2 percent, per Statcast) to ’19 (12.4) to ’20 (23.1).