Should the Brewers Choose Garrett Mitchell or Sal Frelick as Their Opening Day Center Fielder?

Garrett Mitchell showed enough promise in his short stint last year he should certainly be the opening day CFer. And what everyone doesn't want to hear, we can't afford to lose a potential year of control on a guy with the ceiling Frelick has. The production difference between Mitchell and Frelick for that month just wouldn't be a lot. 

10 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

Garrett Mitchell showed enough promise in his short stint last year he should certainly be the opening day CFer. And what everyone doesn't want to hear, we can't afford to lose a potential year of control on a guy with the ceiling Frelick has. The production difference between Mitchell and Frelick for that month just wouldn't be a lot. 

I very much agree with this, plus a lot of reports are that Frelick has some defensive work still to do, so leaving him down to focus on that, as well as allowing him to continue the growth he showed last year as he moved up each level. If he's bashing down doors and Mitchell struggles then that's grand, but if Mitchell shows ++ defense, with .220 hitting and stolen bases galore, then he'll probably be the first choice until service time shenanigans are sorted

To me, the big question is which player overcomes his biggest weakness? Can Mitchell reliably make contact in the majors, or is he a left-handed Keon Broxton?

Can Frelick improve his defense enough in CF, or is he instead going to be in LF with an eventual move to DH?

I think Mitchell is a lock to start the year in Milwaukee unless he absolutely flops or gets injured in ST.  I've accepted the fact that the Brewers will wait until at least May 1 to call up Frelick to gain the extra year of control.

I'm still holding out hope that Mitchell starts in CF and Frelick in RF, with Taylor getting plenty of time as a backup at all three positions.  I think this would be the best lineup starting on opening day.  We'll see how they do in spring training, but I hope they force the issue.

Unrelated to who is starting in CF, but can't believe Longenhagen has Mitchell at 70 speed and 55 arm strength. The 55 arm strength is especially ridiculous when Mitchell was 96th percentile arm strength in his short MLB stint.

I think the opening day job is Mitchell's to lose. If he struggles in spring training and Frelick plays well I could see Frelick being the opening day CF.

17 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Huh. An interesting note about the 96th percentile arm. It will be interesting to see if that moves downward with more playing time.

So they determine OF arm strength by the average of their top 10% throws. More sample could make it go down, but his max is still really good.

Renfroe - 98.4 max, 93.8 overall

Mitchell - 96.8 max, 93.5 overall

I really hope they both play a lot. Even if they just end up being replacement level players. If they are able to improve just a smidge in a couple areas, they will become 50-grade players. It's been a long time since the Brewers have developed a 50-grade player. Trent Grisham maybe? I'm not sure he's better than a 45.

In addition, I really want to see those left-handed speedsters wreaking havoc on the pitchers/IFers. Bunts, Butcher-boys, fielding errors, balks, stolen bases, hustle doubles, triples... That's fun.

Neither.  Counsell would only start MItchell against every other right hander last year.  Tyrone Taylor will be the opening day CF.  You need those wily veterans in there if you are Counsell.

It will play itself out I’d like to believe. The better players will ultimately play and play more. However, on the other hand, when Cutch gets ridiculous ABs against righties last year, really wasted ABs, it is a fair point of concern who gets the early looks in April and May.

Given the status of the clock ticking on Burnes and Woodruff, it should be both from day 1. I'll say it again, some day even the most team sympathizing fans will be lamenting the years wasted with this pitching and wishing they had lined up the offensive talent sooner. Simply put, while I often side with the notion of holding a player back to manipulate service time, this is not the moment to be doing it with Frelick.

Does time away for the World Baseball Classic make Frelick's path to opening day in the big leagues easier or tougher?

21 minutes ago, bensheeps said:

Does time away for the World Baseball Classic make Frelick's path to opening day in the big leagues easier or tougher?

 

Feel like this probably makes it harder for Frelick to break into the team out of camp, but it will be better practice for Frelick playing against pitchers who are trying to win and not trying to work on their stuff. 

I don’t think it makes any difference since based on him saying he expects to begin the year at Nashville, my guess is the team has already told him that’s where he’ll be to start the year.

18 hours ago, WV Brew said:

Neither.  Counsell would only start MItchell against every other right hander last year.  Tyrone Taylor will be the opening day CF.  You need those wily veterans in there if you are Counsell.

And who will be playing RF? Cuz it sure as hell wont be Winker.

Our OF will be: Yeli in LF, Mitchell or Frelick in CF, Taylor in RF... Taylor and Tellez are headed for breakouts this season.

they should have Mitchell, Frelick, and Taylor splitting time in CF and RF, with some games at LF when Yelich is on the bench or DH.

they should have Mitchell, Frelick, and Taylor splitting time in CF and RF, with some games at LF when Yelich is on the bench or DH.

In a way, the Brewers can't lose with either in CF.

Mitchell will, at worst, be a left-handed Keon Broxton, with his splits making his final numbers look much better than Broxton's. Beat case is a left-handed peak Carlos Gomez for the Crew.

Frelick, on the other hand. could be Scott Podsednik in the worst case, given his his tool and the performance to date in the minors and his speed. Best case... Ichiro-lite? 

Both valuable for the first three years, and possibly longer.