Mitchell graduated from North Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and attended Clemson University, where he played college baseball for the Clemson Tigers baseball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

[5][6] He led the CCBL in strikeouts, earning him recognition in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd feature.

[7] Making his professional debut in 2009, he had a 1.95 earned run average (ERA) in 6 games with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League.

He had a 2.87 ERA in 19 games after his promotion to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.

[18] He made his major league debut on May 1, 2012, against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing two hits and striking out one in an inning of work.

[20] The Yankees traded Mitchell and pitcher Danny Farquhar to the Seattle Mariners for Ichiro Suzuki on July 23, 2012.

[27] On August 1, 2016, Mitchell was traded to the Long Island Ducks for former major league player Sean Burroughs.