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The Richmond Flying Squirrels welcomed back Vaun Brown from the injured list last week. In a corresponding roster move, former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder was released, per the team’s transaction log.

That was not the only move that was made for Richmond. Pitching prospect Dylan Hecht was also moved up to Double-A. He has a pretty remarkable story.

Hecht battled some serious injuries while in college at UC Santa Barbara and Sonoma State University. After his college career came an end, he saw sporadic playing time in independent ball. That is until he started throw a fastball in the mid-90’s that caught the attention of the Giants this spring.

They added Hecht on a minor league deal in March. The right-handed hurler posted a 1.98 ERA with 18 strikeouts and 10 walks in 13.2 frames with the Eugene Emeralds before his promotion.

On the other hand, Cal Mitchell’s brief tenure with the club comes to an end. The Giants added the veteran outfielder on a minor league deal at the end of April. He began the season with the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate, but was released after 27 plate appearances.

Around the time he signed, they added a handful of minor leaguers, including Drew Ellis, Devin Mann, Daniel Johnson, and Andrew Knizner. In the case of Johnson and Knizner, they have since been added to the major league roster. On the other hand, Ellis and Mann have been moved up to Triple-A.

Mitchell joined a struggling Richmond offense that has been stretched even thinner with the promotion of Bryce Eldridge to Triple-A.

The 26-year-old outfielder does have some experience in the majors. He has posted a .626 OPS with five home runs, 17 RBI, and 21 runs in 237 plate appearances split across two seasons with the Pirates. Much of that action came during a 69-game run with Pittsburgh in 2022.

Mitchell slumped to a .511 OPS with three home runs and seven RBI in 156 plate appearances with the Flying Squirrels. While he has appeared in five Triple-A seasons, there was limited ability to move to Sacramento given the presence of a handful of outfielders, including Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, Grant McCray, and Wade Meckler on the roster. Mitchell is now a free agent.

On the year, Richmond is in last place in the Eastern League with a 21-46 record. Despite the poor record, Richmond has some quality arms in the starting rotation with Jack Choate, Seth Lonsway, and John Michael Bertrand.