
Blake Mitchell, the Kansas City Royals' catcher, is having an unprecedented season, achieving a remarkable 70.3% rate of the 'three true outcomes'âwalks, strikeouts, and home runs. His unique hitting style and ability to generate high exit velocity have drawn significant attention.
Blake Mitchell has a batting average of .213 and an on-base percentage of .479 in High-A.
Mitchell's walk rate is 33%, which is exceptionally high compared to typical MLB standards, with no qualified hitter in history achieving both a walk rate and strikeout rate above 30%.
Blake Mitchell fractured his hammate bone in February 2025, which significantly impacted his performance that season.
Blake Mitchell was selected eighth overall in the 2023 MLB draft, a surprising choice given the high risk associated with high school catchers.


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| Season | Name | PA | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Mark McGwire | 681 | 23.8% | 22.8% | 0.299 | 0.470 | 0.752 | 205 |
| 1996 | Mark McGwire | 548 | 21.2% | 20.4% | 0.312 | 0.467 | 0.730 | 190 |
| 2018 | Mike Trout | 608 | 20.1% | 20.4% | 0.312 | 0.460 | 0.628 | 188 |
| 1987 | Jack Clark | 559 | 24.3% | 24.9% | 0.286 | 0.459 | 0.597 | 176 |
| 1999 | Mark McGwire | 661 | 20.1% | 21.3% | 0.278 | 0.424 | 0.697 | 168 |
| 1971 | Willie Mays | 537 | 20.9% | 22.9% | 0.271 | 0.425 | 0.482 | 157 |
| 1989 | Jack Clark | 594 | 22.2% | 24.4% | 0.242 | 0.410 | 0.459 | 151 |
| 2007 | Jack Cust | 507 | 20.7% | 32.3% | 0.256 | 0.408 | 0.504 | 145 |
| 1999 | Jim Thome | 629 | 20.2% | 27.2% | 0.277 | 0.426 | 0.540 | 142 |
| 1977 | Gene Tenace | 581 | 21.5% | 20.5% | 0.233 | 0.415 | 0.410 | 134 |
| Now, letâs be fair: weâve only had a month-ish of baseball so far, and the chances of Mitchell having his own bizarre 30/30 season over the full year are basically nil. But Mitchell does have 330 plate appearances in High-A ball overall, and heâs walked 23.3% of the time and struck out 32.4% of the time. | ||||||||
| Whatâs the takeaway here, then? For starters, I donât think High-A is challenging him nearly enough, and if it were up to me Iâd promote him to Double-A tomorrow. Mitchell needs to cut down on his strikeout rate if he wants the best chance to succeed in the big leagues, but right now he can sleepwalk to being the most dangerous hitter on the team by simply murdering mistake pitches and spitting on the ones that arenât in the zone. | ||||||||
| The other takeaway here isnât really a takeaway but an invitation to examine if Mitchell might indeed be able to succeed in the big leagues with a big olâ strikeout rate. I have thus far been very skeptical of Mitchell for this reason, but heâs starting to show a level of plate discipline and game power where it just might work. I mentioned Gallo earlier, but his career .194/.319/.456 line, while bizarre, kept him in the league for a decade. Could Mitchell be a sort of Gallo at the plate? Maybe! The other potential guy to look at is Munetaka Murakami, the rookie Japanese slugger who has a 144 wRC+ despite a 33.1% strikeout rate because he walks almost 19% of the time and hits dingers left and right. Like, the White Sox could not care less that heâs only hitting .223. | ||||||||
| Iâd love it if Mitchell could wrangle his strikeouts down to a more manageable level. At the same time, itâs almost more fun to consider a world in which the Royals are the ones with the ridiculous Three True Outcomes player. Can the Royals develop such a hitter? That is another question, one that I donât really like my gut answer to. I guess weâll just half to wait and see. |