The former first-round pick suffers a setback.
Blake Mitchell is in big league camp for the first time, but the former first-round pick will be out of action for awhile. MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers reports the catcher will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken right hamate bone. Mitchell is scheduled to have surgery later in the week. According to reporting from Jaylon Thompson, the injury seemed to happen gradually, with manager Matt Quatraro quoted as saying, “I think it was something that happened over time.”
Mitchell was the eighth overall pick in the 2023 draft and has been ranked as a top 100 prospect this winter by Baseball America (#75) and MLB Pipeline (#48). Last year the 20-year-old hit .232/.368/.424 with 18 home runs and 26 steals with 80 walks in 111 games between Low-A and High-A. He was not expected to have a chance to make the big league team this season, but was brought to camp to give him a taste of MLB experience.
The Royals have eight other catchers in big league camp – Freddy Fermin, Kyle Hayes, Omar Hernandez, Carter Jensen, Luke Maile, Brian O’Keefe, Salvador Perez, and Luca Tresh.