It’s a name that should probably get talked about more, but doesn’t more than likely due to some of his struggles at the major league level. Cal Mitchell is having an outstanding year for the Indianapolis Indians.
For what it’s worth, it really shouldn’t be too much a surprise as Mitchell as continually gotten better as he’s moved up the ladder. He had a great year at Double-A Altoona in 2021, but played with some of the system’s top prospects, so it might have been easy to look past him.
He’s certainly used that major league experience he’s gotten this year to his advantage in Triple-A. Mitchell currently has a .938 OPS with Indianapolis this season, which is nearly .200 points higher than what he did in Altoona last year.
If not for his time in the majors, he’d be well on the way to passing his previous career high for home runs, which is 15 from back in 2019. He was especially good in August, posting a 1.126 OPS and collecting 10 extra-base hits during the month, four of which were home runs.
Mitchell has struggled while in the majors, but as long as he keeps hitting like this in Triple-A, he will always be in a position to get another opportunity when one presents itself.
Bradenton Bullpen Woes
The Bradenton Marauders are right in the thick of a playoff race heading down the stretch. This week while the Tampa Tarpons and Dunedin Blue Jays, two of the teams Bradenton is competing against, take on each other, the Marauders draw Fort Myers, one of the worst teams in the division.
While they’ve won the first two games of the series, the bullpen has kept things interesting. Once Anthony Solometo exited the game after pitching 4 1/3 innings, the bullpen struggled to hang on to the lead. Lack of throwing strikes directly contributed to hit, as the bullpen walked nine batters in 4 2/3 innings on Wednesday.
Wilber Dotel, up from the FCL after the season concluded, faced 12 batters on Wednesday, and walked six them. Cy Neilson and Mike Walsh, two 2022 draft picks, have a collective 10 batters in seven innings since joining the Marauders.
That’s a common theme, as Marauder relievers walked nine batters on Tuesday as well. They’ve been stretched a little thin already, having to make up innings from when Bubba Chandler left the game after recording just one out, but 18 walks in two games isn’t a recipe for success in a playoff race.
It hasn’t been isolated to the last couple of days, as Bradenton relievers rank among the worst in the Florida State League when it comes to K/BB (tied for worst), BB/9 (third worst), WHIP (second worst), and opponent’s average (second worst).
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