Now that he’s no longer a rookie, Cal Mitchell came to spring training without the nerves the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had felt in the past but with a newfound sense of purpose.

With 69 major league games under his belt — including coming through in a big moment to break up a no-hitter — Mitchell made up his mind that he wasn’t willing to hold anything back this season.

“My biggest goal is to go for a lot,” said Mitchell, who turns 24 on Wednesday. “Sometimes, throughout my career, from when I was a kid to now, I haven’t gone for a lot — whether it’s take that big swing or make that big throw or dive for a catch. That’s just out of wanting to do the right thing. I’m shedding that, the negative thoughts that creep in, to go for a lot. I’ll see how it works out.”

That mentality has served Mitchell well, as he’s hit safely in four of his six Grapefruit League games, including RBIs in back-to-back games. He had a two-run single in the sixth inning of a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon at LECOM Park, then hit a 404-foot RBI double at the New York Yankees on Monday night.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton talked about the need for players to dominate a level in the minor leagues, and Mitchell did that last summer at Triple-A Indianapolis. He had a .339/.391/.547 slash line with 18 doubles, nine home runs and 49 RBIs in 63 games, showing he had little left to prove at the plate against minor league pitching.

His time in the majors was another story. He slashed .226/.286/.349 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 17 RBIs, with a 22.4% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Now, Mitchell wants to improve his pitch selection and swing frequency at the plate to raise his on-base percentage.

“There’s more of a purpose to how I go about my day or what I’m trying to accomplish because I know what I need to work on, as opposed to still guessing,” said Mitchell, who is batting .267 (4 for 15) this spring, with three strikeouts and no walks. “I was swinging at lots of stuff. I wanted to hit so bad that it would take away from my decision making. I’m trying to reel that in.”

Mitchell’s mindset proved beneficial on June 14, when the lefty batter broke up the no-hit bid by St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas with two strikes and two outs in the ninth inning. Mitchell hit Mikolas’ 129th pitch, a 2-2 curveball, for a double that bounced over the center field wall at Busch Stadium in the 9-1 loss.

“That was bittersweet. That was a tough game for us, so there wasn’t a whole lot of jumping around,” Mitchell said. “As far as personal moments go, that was a win in the mental space. I came in to pinch-hit that day and we were losing by a few runs. Obviously, it was a big moment. I looked at it as a mental win. I was able to calm myself down in the moment and do that job in that specific time.”

Where Mitchell’s bat is his best attribute, his play in the outfield has room for improvement — and almost was cause for injury this spring. While tracking a fly ball in left field, Mitchell crashed shoulder-first into the wall as Weston Wilson scored on an inside-the-park home run in a 9-7 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Feb. 27. Mitchell remained in the game, and Shelton blamed the play on the sun at LECOM Park.

“As we’ve seen over the course of time, left field in Bradenton early in the spring is challenging,” Shelton said. “There’s not many places where the sun is as much of a factor as it is here early in the spring. I think we definitely saw that a little bit.”

With Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski and Andrew McCutchen the likely starters, Mitchell is competing with veterans Miguel Andujar and Connor Joe and young outfielders Canaan Smith-Njigba, Travis Swaggerty and Ryan Vilade for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

“Lots of those guys are my friends. I’ve played with them a long time but the competition is tight just like it always has been,” said Mitchell, who the Pirates have asked to learn to play first base to add to his versatility. “That’s not really for us to decide or worry about. We try to come in here, have fun and play together and the results will speak for themselves.”

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