After starting first baseman Garrett Michel suffered an injury on March 1st against Stony Brook, Virginia Tech Baseball announced today that Michel has had successful surgery on a broken wrist, but that it is "anticipated" that he will miss the rest of the season.
Virginia Tech Baseball has just announced in a statement to the media that starting 1B Garrett Michel has suffered a broken wrist and it is anticipated that he will miss the rest of the season. Significant loss for the #Hokies' lineup.
— Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) March 7, 2024
Full statement below:
"On March 1,…
Michel was going to be a pillar of a strong Virginia Tech batting order in 2024 after batting .339 with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 16 doubles, and 37 walks plus a .465 on-base percentage and .626 slugging percentage. He had gotten off to an extremely fast start to the 2024 season going 14-35 (.400 batting average) at the dish in nine games with four home runs, 12 RBIs, five doubles, and four walks plus a .475 on-base percentage and a .886 slugging percentage.
Freshman Ethan Gibson replaced Michel as the starting first baseman for the final two games of the series against Stony Brook, going 1-7 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored. Gehrig Ebel came in for him in the opener against Stony Brook and could also replace Michel, especially with the talent VT has at catcher with Henry Cooke and David McCann.
Gibson is an intriguing young talent while Ebel is a solid veteran, but there's no doubt that Michel is a big loss for the Hokies in 2024, especially offensively.
Here is the full statement from Virginia Tech Baseball regarding Michel's injury.
"On March 1, Virginia Tech sophomore first baseman Garrett Michel sustained a badly broken wrist from a collision during the seventh inning of the Hokies’ 6-3 victory against Stony Brook at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park, requiring him to leave the game.
Michel has since undergone successful surgery to medically repair his wrist and is expected to make a full recovery, though it is anticipated he will miss the remainder of the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season.
As a rookie with the Hokies during the 2023 campaign, Michel batted .339 and slugged .626 through his 51 starts, compiling 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 45 RBIs. He garnered 2023 Freshman All-American praise as a first baseman from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game, in addition to placing onto the 2023 ACC All-Freshman Team.
Through nine games this spring, Michel had been batting .400 (14-for-35) with five doubles, four home runs and a 1.361 OPS. He is slated to return to the Bourne Braves for the 2024 Cape Cod Baseball League season."
