UCLA’s Garrett Mitchell, former Orange Lutheran star, picked by Brewers in MLB first round

Garrett Mitchell from Orange Lutheran was selected in the Major League draft. (Photo courtesy UCLA Athletic Communication)

UCLA’s junior outfielder Garrett Mitchell out of Orange Lutheran High School was selected in the first round with the No. 20 overall pick in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday evening, making him the first member of the 2020 UCLA MLB Draft Class presented by Top Chops.

At No. 20, Mitchell becomes the highest-selected Bruin position player since Chase Utley was picked No. 15 overall by Philadelphia in 2000. Mitchell is UCLA’s first outfielder to be taken in the first round since Shane Mack was selected No. 11 overall by San Diego in 1984.

In addition, this is the second consecutive year that a Bruin position player has been selected in the first round following Michael Toglia No. 23, Colorado) in 2019. During the past 16 years under head coach John Savage, UCLA has had 106 MLB draftees including 40 inside the first 10 rounds. Mitchell is the first Bruin selected by the Brewers since Ryan Deeter in 2013 and the 10th all-time.

“We are very proud of Garrett and extremely happy for him and his family on being selected in the first round of the MLB draft,” said Savage. “The Brewers are getting a player that can have tremendous impact on both sides of the ball. Garrett can change the game in so many ways.”

Orange Lutheran’s baseball program, led by head coach Eric Borba, sent out a tweet which said “congratulations to Garrett Mitchell ’17 on being drafted in the 1st round of the MLB Draft.”

Mitchell, out of Orange, is coming off a superlative three-year career at UCLA, as he put together a .327/.393/.478 slash line while playing premium defense in both right field and center field. A spark plug at the top of the lineup, Mitchell ranks second all-time in UCLA history with 15 career triples and was 28-37 in stolen base attempts including a 23-28 mark over his final two seasons.

As a sophomore in 2019, he earned All-America honors after slashing .349/.418/.566 with six home runs and a single season program record-12 triples. He was especially hot down the stretch, batting .420 (42-100) with 10 triples over the final 22 games of the year. After the season, he was invited to play on USA Baseball’s prestigious Collegiate National Team.

Mitchell was a unanimous preseason All-America pick in 2020, and he was off to a strong start before the cancellation of the season because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was batting .355/.425/.484 through 15 games and registered just three strikeouts in 73 plate appearances.

Wednesday represented the second time that Mitchell has been selected in the MLB Draft. He was previously picked in the 14th round by Oakland in 2017, but opted to honor his commitment to UCLA.

Source: UCLA Athletic Communications