• After a history of injuries, Garrett Mitchell is having a breakout season for the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Mitchell has set a personal goal to be available for 140 games this season, a significant increase from previous years.
• He is producing impressive offensive numbers, including a .269 average, 11 home runs, and 65 RBIs.
• Manager Pat Murphy has praised Mitchell’s improvement and growing self-belief throughout the season.

Like everyone in the major leagues this time of year, Garrett Mitchell is feeling it physically.

Yet considering the alternative, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m grinding,” Mitchell said with a smile following the Milwaukee Brewers’ 13-9 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field on Saturday night, Sept. 12. He racked up a career-high-tying four hits, including a two-run, first-inning home run, and fell just a triple shy of the cycle.

“But it’s a great place to be,” Mitchell continued. “I couldn’t be more thankful; it’s been a long time coming. But I put in a lot of work this offseason toward that. My goal for the year was to be available for 140 games. I’m coming up on playing 140 games.

“So, I think for me it became less about statistical things and just more about being out there and being a part of this. Where else would you want to be? Doing everything I can to be out there every single day.”

Indeed, Mitchell now sits at 133 games played (115 starts) with 13 remaining.

Thanks to a litany of serious injuries since debuting in 2022, the Brewers’ 2020 first-round pick had played in a combined 141 games entering this season with a previous high of 69 in 2024.

Mitchell is producing like the major talent he was expected to be coming out of UCLA as well.

With seven hits so far – including two homers, one of which was a grand slam – in a series that’s seen the Brewers set a franchise record with 33 runs in a two-game span, Mitchell has his season average back up to .269 with 11 homers, 65 runs batted in and an OPS of .789 along with 14 stolen bases.

Mitchell is playing a solid center field as well, accounting for six outs above average and five defensive runs saved.

All told, it’s been good enough for 3.2 bWAR tied for fourth on the Brewers with right-hander Logan Henderson.

Yes, he still strikes out at a high rate (fifth percentile in the majors).

But when he does make contact Mitchell is hitting the ball as hard as anyone in the game (97th percentile exit velocity and 96th percentile hard-hit percentage with 98th percentile bat speed) while being afforded the ability to play against left-handed pitchers for the first time in his career (.258 average, .720 OPS).

Learning how to pick his spots in an attempt to remain healthy has been key for Mitchell.

“I never doubted my ability to play the game,” said Mitchell. “But something that I felt I needed to prove again was being healthy and being out there. That’s just playing smart – knowing when to push it a little more and knowing when to take the foot off the gas.

“And when I say take the foot off the gas that doesn’t mean not play hard, because I always play hard. But just knowing and understanding when it’s time to give it that little extra.”

After three hits in four at-bats highlighted by his fifth-inning grand slam in Friday’s 20-0 blowout of the Reds, Mitchell slugged a two-run shot in the first to match Brice Turang and get the Brewers out to a quick 4-0 lead.

Mitchell singled in his second at-bat, stole second and scored, singled again in his third and then one-hopped the wall in right with the bases loaded in the fifth to drive in two more as Milwaukee plated five in all to take a commanding 13-5 lead at that point.

On Thursday, September 10, the UW-Milwaukee Police Department issued a statement: “The UWM Police Department has ended its use of Flock cameras on its own initiative. Flock has been asked to remove the cameras. In the meantime, UWM has covered them so that they cannot be used.”

This comes amidst a flurry of cities ‘flocking’ to cancel their contracts with the company, largely due to misuse, privacy and civil rights concerns.  

What is a Flock camera?

These are AI-powered Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) that store images of passing vehicles. The cameras store specific details, including the vehicle’s make, model, color and location. 

The main reason for these cameras is to enhance community safety by giving police officers access to the image database to help find missing persons, as championed on their website, flocksafety.com.  

The problems for Flock started relatively early on in their existence. Seemingly overnight, people noticed these black cameras with solar panels on top around their communities, schools and major highways. 

Flock cameras’ rapid construction was made possible through contracts with local police departments. The public didn’t appreciate the lack of notice around these cameras and didn’t hesitate to make it known. From going to city council meetings to creating apps to track police use of Flock cameras, communities banded together to make their voices heard.  

When cameras were first installed, they stored data for up to 30 days, auto-deleting after that time window expired. Part of the recent pushback Flock has faced led them to tighten that rolling window to seven days of stored information. 

Milwaukee approved its first Flock contract in 2022 per Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service¹, although it’s not entirely clear when they came to the UWM campus. 

As with most issues of public interest, however, the results of these “de-flock” efforts have been mixed. Cameras have been vandalized and stolen, as Winona, MN experienced earlier this year, per Valley News Live². 

Some cities have responded to the mass distrust by canceling their contracts, including Stevens Point and Sheboygan³, as per the Wisconsin Examiner. 

In fact, just weeks ago the Milwaukee Police Department imposed heavy regulations on who has access to the feed. This restricted access to supervisors from the local department and ceased sharing with neighboring jurisdictions, per Wisconsin Examiner⁴. 

Flock cameras at UWM now

UWM is bagging up cameras and telling Flock to hit the road. I took a trek around campus to get the opinions of UWM students on the exit of these cameras. The responses were exceptionally hopeful. 

“That’s a huge win for students and teachers,” one gentleman told me. 

Another offered: “Making the community feel safe and protected during very uncertain times…just putting the community first. This is exactly why I chose UWM.”  

However, what really intrigued me was what another student had to say: “Flock cameras are an infringement of personal liberty. I do understand their value, protecting the students of this campus, but above all, I believe in the right of privacy.” There were many more students I spoke with who echoed similar concerns.  

National and local distrust of Flock seem to be the leading reasons for the company’s abrupt exit from the university. 

It’s tough to say for certain, as all the University Police will say is the above statement, as well as: “UWM parking garage license plate readers are not connected to any internal or external systems outside of UWM Transportation Services. Their sole purpose is to read license plates at designated parking facility entrances and exits.” 

For those concerned about privacy, this appears to be a big win. All student statements came from people I found on campus who asked to remain anonymous.  

Notes:

• ¹https://milwaukeenns.org/2026/06/08/police-records-show-milwaukees-surveillance-infrastructure-is-growing/ 
• ²https://www.valleynewslive.com/2026/08/04/every-flock-camera-winona-minnesota-cut-down-stolen-coordinated-theft/ 
• ³https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/09/09/more-wisconsin-communities-are-dropping-flock/ 
• ⁴https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/09/02/milwaukee-further-restricts-flock-as-controversy-continues-to-grow/ 

The Milwaukee Brewers just cannot be stopped. After sweeping the Chicago Cubs, they won the first game against the Cincinnati Reds by a whopping 20-0 final score. Following that thumping, Jackson Chourio sent out a 10-word message.

On a night that Garrett Mitchell recorded a Grand Slam, there was a lot going right for the Brewers.

Milwaukee Brewers Star Jackson Chourio Sends Out 10-Word Message

Following their impressive victory over the Reds, Chourio took to Instagram to share a 10-word message.

A few short hours after the Brewers shut out the Reds, Chourio shared a Brewers post on his Instagram stories with a caption that reads, “Just a little taste of where we want to go.”

In Friday night’s game, Chourio recorded four hits, three runs, and two RBIs in six at-bats.

Milwaukee Brewers Hit Impressive Milestones In Latest Victory Over Cincinnati Reds

The Brewers have been the most impressive team in the MLB this year.

Sarah Langs reported Friday night what may be the most impressive milestone the team could have.

“The Brewers are the FIRST TEAM in MLB history with MULTIPLE SHUTOUT WINS OF 20+ RUNS IN A SEASON,” she wrote on Friday, September 11th, 2026.

For those who may have forgotten, the Brewers defeated the Seattle Mariners 22-0 on August 18th, less than one month ago.

Looking At Jackson Chourio’s Incredible Third MLB Season

The 22-year-old Brewers star is having a season to remember.

Chourio is up to a career-high of 23 home runs in 2026. Additionally, he is on pace to surpass career highs in RBIs and hits.

As for his value to the Brewers, WAR paints a clear picture.

According to FanGraphs, his 3.9 overall WAR ranks second on the club behind Brice Turang. For Offensive WAR, Chourio’s 18.3 also ranks second to Jake Bauers’ team-leading 31 Offensive WAR.

One way or another, it’s tough to imagine that the Brewers would have achieved this milestone if it wasn’t for Chourio.

Caleb Kerney Caleb covers the NHL, MLB, and Cricket for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney