Garrett Mitchell knows how pitchers are trying to beat him. Here’s what he’s doing to combat it.

PHOENIX – Garrett Mitchell was elated.

As far as spring training at-bats can go, his had gone about as well as he could have wanted on Friday at American Family Fields of Phoenix.

No, he didn’t blast a homer. He didn’t drive in any runs. He didn’t even come close.

Mitchell instead fouled a pitch back to the top of the screen. Then, he singled just over the glove of the shortstop.

That was enough for Mitchell to consider the day a success.

“Pitches that are up, I’m fouling off with authority,” Mitchell said. “That’s a good sign. They’re actually just misses versus just fouling a ball back when you got beat.”

Even foul balls are a good result for Mitchell, the Milwaukee Brewers first-round pick in 2020, this spring.

Through parts of two seasons in the majors, Mitchell, has put up strong surface numbers. He’s batted .278 with a .795 OPS and five home runs in 47 games. On the other hand, he’s also struck out 38.3% of the time.

And while Mitchell isn’t overly concerned about the strikeouts just yet, he knows he’s struggled against elevated fastballs in particular – and that pitchers have become well aware of this.

“I’m challenging myself on pitches up in the zone,” Mitchell said. “I’m wanting to see how high I can get above the zone and be able to foul off pitches, foul off velocity. I already know that’s going to be a place where pitchers are going to try to attack me.”

Swing changes help Mitchell attack fastballs

This off-season, Mitchell instituted changes to his setup in hopes of tackling the issue. The positioning of his hands, lower and a bit further back from where they previously were, should allow him to be on time better for those fastballs up, he believes.

“I’m just giving myself more room from front-to-back to stay in the zone longer,” Mitchell said. “Before it was more in and out versus now I have some room to where – I don’t want to say I’m late – but I can see the ball deeper and still be able to hit the ball well to center or left.”

So far, Mitchell has felt more in control of his timing.

“The biggest part is timing,” he said. “If you’re rushing through it versus being in control and in rhythm early you don’t give yourself the time to let your body move like that. If you’re super late and you’re not down on time, if you’re rushing through a move versus getting up and down on time, then you’re not giving yourself a bunch of space to work.

Mitchell has also simplified his approach with two strikes. He eschews his typical leg kick, which he uses as a timing mechanism as well as to load up his power on his back foot, for a toe tap that gets his front foot on the ground before the ball is released homeward.

So when Mitchell lined a single the other way in his first at-bat Friday on both an elevated fastball and with two strikes on him, he was understandably enthused – or at least as enthused as you can get over a spring swing.

“I feel like I’m giving myself more of a chance with two strikes,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell knows his path to success may be as simple as giving himself a better chance with two strikes. The foundations of his success at the plate are his elite speed and some real under-the-surface power, but he isn’t going to access either by striking out more than one-third of the time.

“I know the zone pretty well,” Mitchell said. “I have a high average on balls in play. Part of that adjustment in my swing is to give myself more of a chance. I feel like most of the time I’m already making the right swing decisions.”

The best may still be ahead for Mitchell

While Mitchell understood the need to make adjustments, he asserts that he isn’t yet worried about the strikeout numbers because, even though he’s been in the majors since August 2022, he still doesn’t have a very big sample size. Much of that, of course, is due to needing shoulder surgery last April that kept him out until the final days of the 2023 regular season.

“I think part of it is going through a time that you’re out there and then you’re not,” Mitchell said. “Then you’re out there again and then you’re not. It’s hard to know all that much when there’s just not enough at-bats there. If you were to take that (strikeout rate) over 600 at bats – I think we all go through spurts where struggles are going to happen.

“My thought is what does it look like after a consistent number of ABs? A 40 percent strikeout rate with 600 at bats? That’s one thing. Over 140 at-bats, it’s different, you know what I mean?”

In a young, crowded outfield, it’s uncertain how much playing time, at least to begin the year, that Mitchell will get to try and sort out his new swing. Jackson Chourio seems to have a very real shot of being the opening day center fielder, a title owned by Mitchell last year. Sal Frelick is held in high regard by the organization still and Joey Wiemer possesses as much upside as anyone in the group.

Playing time in the majors, though, just about always seems to work itself out. Mitchell is doing all he can to get it to work in his favor.

One foul ball, one single to left, one simplified approach at a time.

“It takes time to get to know yourself as a hitter, how your swing is without enough at-bats, especially at this level,” Mitchell said. “There’s no pressure with that for me. I’ll get there. That will happen.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers' Garrett Mitchell making swing adjustments ahead of 2024 season