It’s been a rough week for Jared Mitchell, the former Westgate High multi-sport standout who was named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2009 College World Series after LSU won its sixth national championship in June.

Mitchell, who was selected 23rd overall in the first round of Major League Baseball’s amateur draft by the Chicago White Sox, is hitless in his last four games for the Class A Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators, the South Atlantic League affiliate of the White Sox that he joined after signing a contract with the organization in July.

But remember this is only the beginning of Mitchell’s professional baseball career.

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Mitchell started off hot — make that extremely hot — with the Intimidators after sitting out a few games because of injury.

He went 2-for-4 in his first game on July 17 with a double and two runs, then followed that up with another 2-for-4 game the next day, again doubling and this time driving in two runs while scoring one.

Through July 24, his sixth game with the Intimidators, Mitchell was still hitting .400 with a triple, two doubles, three RBIs and five runs.

After a 2-for-4 game with two doubles in a 3-2 win over the Rome (Ga.) Braves on July 26, Mitchell was batting .393 through his first eight games with the Intimidators.

Mitchell has been starting in center field for Kannapolis, which leads the Northern Division of the South Atlantic League by a game over the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate West Virginia Power through Sunday night’s games.

Though he sat out Sunday’s 6-5, extra-inning win over the Lake County (Ohio) Captains, Mitchell was a combined 0-for-11 in the previous four games with six strikeouts, raising his season total to 14 K’s in 13 games played. Mitchell also walked once in each of those games, raising his season total to eight.

Lest you think this is unusual, remember that baseball, as the great Ted Williams said, is the only field of endeavor where one can succeed three times out of 10 and be considered a good performer.

That was the view of one of the greatest hitters of all time, a Hall of Famer who was the last major leaguer to hit .400 over the course of a baseball season, doing so 68 years ago in 1941.

So don’t worry too much about Mitchell. Talented, athletic, intelligent and articulate, Mitchell has all the tools necessary to get his batting average (currently .286) back up and begin the move up the chain of the White Sox minor league organization.

It’s only the beginning for Mitchell.

CHRIS LANDRY is the sports editor of The Daily Iberian.