After an offseason of turnover within the roster and coaching staff alike, the Michigan baseball team has lots of questions to answer in key positions in the 2023 season. When coach Erik Bakich departed for Clemson, he took a host of transfers with him, while the team also lost talent to the MLB Draft. But, first year head coach Tracy Smith brings in an entirely new coaching staff in hopes of rejuvenating the program.
The Wolverines brought in three impactful transfers to add to the roster, as well as a few freshmen who have been ready to contribute right away in the first year of the Smith’s era. The remainder of the roster returns with the experience from last year’s team that made it to the NCAA Regional Championship. With a 6-9 record so far in the season, Michigan is still looking to put the pieces together to field its strongest lineup.
Smith has used up to twelve different fielders in one game and up to five pitchers in another, showing that he is willing to give his athletes a chance to prove themselves in hopes of finding the right lineup combinations. No position is guaranteed for this rebuilding program, and that is being highlighted as the season progresses.
Ahead of Michigan’s first home series, The Daily breaks down this year’s baseball roster.
Pitchers
When it comes to Michigan’s Friday starter, junior left-hander Connor O’Halloran has it all but locked up. The Wolverines’ ace has been dominant to start the season, giving his team a chance to win every time he takes the mound. Junior right-hander Chase Allen has started the second game of each series so far but has posted inconsistent results.
In relief, senior right-hander Noah Rennard and freshman righty Mitch Voit have stood out thus far. Rennard often follows O’Halloran in middle innings, but has also faced late-inning situations in recent games. Voit was labeled as the team’s closer by Smith before the season, yet saw his first extended relief against Oakland, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings. Voit boasts a zero ERA thus far in the season in 10.1 innings pitched.
Third-day pitching has been Michigan’s achilles heel. Senior left-hander Jacob Denner has been the usual call to start. Denner has similar stats to Allen, although he has a 0-3 record. In their three third-day games so far, the Wolverines have given up 23 runs.
Inconsistency deep in the rotation will plague Michigan as the season goes on, and it will lean on its stronger pieces to consistently get in the win column.
Catchers
Behind the plate, junior Gabe Sotres has been the Wolverines’ starter in all but two games. Sotres is a transfer student from Michigan State and is batting .267 on the season, with just one error in the field so far. Behind him, graduate Casey Buckley has started the other two games, as well at pinch hitting on occasion for Sotres.
Sotres will likely hold the spot for the remainder of the season, as his strength in the field in addition to decent hitting set him apart from the rest of Michigan’s catchers.
First Base
The Wolverines have done quite a bit of experimenting with their options at first. Senior Ted Burton, graduate Jack Van Remortel, senior Cam Hart and senior Jake Marti have all taken starts at the position. Junior Ian Kennedy has also seen time at first base, but only due to in-game substitutions. The experimentation is evident as Marti and Kennedy are listed as outfielders, but Smith is willing to test out anything through this point in the season.
Van Remortel has started the most games at the position, hitting .267 on the season. He leads the team in putouts with 80 and has zero errors on the season. If he can become consistent with his hitting numbers, he would be the no question everyday starter.
However, Hart and Marti recently began to see their name on the roster at first base, with Hart seeing his first action at the spot this past weekend, starting one and appearing at first in all three games. Before suffering a broken nose in the Shriners College Classic, Marti was starting to come into his own, hitting .368 with six RBI in seven appearances.
Van Remortel can be expected to continue getting starts at first, although the evidence suggests that Smith will continue to see what other players can bring to the position throughout the season.
Middle Infield
The Wolverines have two veterans at the shortstop and second base positions: graduate Cody Jefferis at short and the aforementioned Burton at second. Jefferis is another one of Michigan’s transfers coming from University of San Diego. He has started each game at shortstop and at the top of the order as well. He has struggled so far at the plate with a .190 average, but he has shown power with two doubles and a triple on the year.
Burton has started all but three games at second, and in games he hasn’t, he has been in the designated hitter spot or first base. He is second among starters with a .250 batting average, but is also second on the team with 20 strikeouts. He is second on the team in fielding, with 28 assists and only two errors at the tough second base position.
In the three games in which Burton did not start at second, sophomore Camden Gasser and junior Brandon Lawrence earned the position. They each bat .222 in nine at bats, with two hits a piece. Their similar stats at the plate do not differentiate them, and neither do their fielding stats: one error and one putout for each.
Burton and Jefferis have the experience in their respective positions and have strong job security in the middle of the field.
Third Base
At the hot corner, the Wolverines look to a freshman in Voit. He was highly touted coming out of high school and has had a slow start to his college career, but there has been no indication of frustration from the team with their young third baseman. Voit has started each game for Michigan at third, as well as his numerous relief appearances on the mound.
He has shown some growing pains in the field, with four errors and a .879 fielding percentage. These mistakes can be tossed up to his age, but at such an important position his consistency will be key for the Wolverines. At the plate he has struggled with his power, with only a .283 slugging percentage, but is third on the team in batting average at .245.
Voit is usually relieved at third by junior Dylan Stanton whenever he enters to pitch, yet there has been no real competition to his starting position this far into the season. The freshman is taking his bumps, but he is too valuable to the program to not keep out on the field.
Outfield
Starting at center field for Michigan is another freshman, Greg Pace Jr. He has started in all but one game so far and has proven to be a spark plug at the plate as well. He has one double, two triples and one home run on the season. His extra-base hit ability can ignite the sometimes-stagnant Wolverine offense.
In left field is senior Tito Flores, who has started a majority of games as well. He has a stout 1.000 fielding average and he sees the ball well at the plate, with only ten strikeouts on the season. Flores is a symbol of maturity as one of the team’s veterans and carries himself as a true leader.
Right field has been another position of experimentation for Michigan, with senior Joey Velazquez leading the way. Velazquez started the first five games of the season before handing off to redshirt senior Jordan Rogers, Marti and freshman Jonathan Kim. Velazquez has struggled at the plate, batting just .132 so far – possibly giving reason to give other players a shot at the position.
In Michigan’s last series, Velazquez has taken back the spot and looked better, bringing his average up to .132 from the .080 it was at before the home opener against Oakland. Right field will likely experience more turnover as the season progresses, but right now it remains Velazquez’s spot to lose.
Designated Hitter
The designated hitter position has seen six different players get the start. Established starters like Burton and Flores have been slotted in, as well as lesser-seen fielders like Kennedy and Gasser, the now-injured Marti and sophomore catcher Joe Longo. Longo has only appeared at designated hitter, but has started each of the last six. Another player to be considered is senior Jimmy Obertop, who is out for most of the season with an injury but is expected to be inserted in at designated hitter once healthy.
Longo bats .288 with a .688 OPS, and has only struck out six times in 27 appearances. He boasts a strong statline for his relatively low at-bat count, and appears to be running away with the position. While Smith has shown that he will write-in different positional players at designated hitter in order to experiment in different parts of the lineup, Longo should be the everyday starter at designated hitter going forward.
Lineup
The 2023 Michigan baseball team will continue to look different, week-by-week, as the season continues. Smith is not scared to change things around to find the best solution for his team on the field, and that has been represented by the large numbers of players getting reps at numerous positions. With that said, there are some locks in the lineup and veterans who bring prowess to the rebuilding Wolverines.
When it comes to the home-opening series for Michigan against Bradley, The Daily predicts the following lineup.
1. Cody Jefferis (SS)
2. Tito Flores (LF)
3. Ted Burton (2B)
4. Gabe Sotres (C)
5. Joe Longo (DH)
6. Mitch Voit (3B)
7. Jack Van Remortel (1B)
8. Joey Velazquez (RF)
9. Greg Pace Jr. (CF)
P Connor O’Halloran