Kansas City Royals catching prospect Blake Mitchell didn’t have the year he envisioned.
The 21-year-old, who MLB Pipeline ranks as the No. 2 prospect in the Royals’ system at the moment, wound up with a peculiar slash line for High-A Quad Cities this season. He batted .207, but got on base at a .372 clip. But the biggest concern was his lack of power.
In 49 games in High-A, Mitchell hit two home runs and racked up just 10 extra-base hits. He underwent hamate bone surgery in February, so not only was the start of his season delayed, but he may have taken longer than expected to reclaim some of his grip strength and power.
Mitchell is preparing to play in the Arizona Fall League this year, which he hopes will help him get back up to speed after his rough showing. And he recently talked about how he feels recovering from that hamate injury may have zapped some of his power.
“I’ve heard rumors about that, but I wouldn’t say that,” Mitchell said, per Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com. “I would just feel it on certain swings. I’d feel that certain pain. But I’m just excited to be out here and hopefully that doesn’t happen anymore, so I can just go play my game.”
The Royals’ recent AFL alums include outfielder Jac Caglianone, who graduated from last year’s draft class to making his major league debut in June. Mitchell also said he reached out to Caglianone ahead of his stint with the Surprise Saguaros.
“I’ve talked to Jac about it a little bit,” Mitchell said, per Dykstra. “He said it’s a lot of fun because I’ve never been out here before. Having him in my back pocket for any questions I needed was definitely helpful.”
Mitchell now may face an uphill climb to one day becoming the Royals’ starting catcher, as fellow top prospect Carter Jensen debuted in the majors this season to a rousing success. But the former first-round pick undeniably still has the talent to be an impact big-leaguer if he starts driving the ball with authority.
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