Following an offseason with plenty of changes, Virginia Tech baseball will be very different in 2024. Still, with returning faces and incoming talent, there’s a good idea of what the Hokies will look like on the diamond this spring.
Lineup
The Hokies’ infield is pretty straightforward as all four starters from last year are back: sophomore Garrett Michel at first, junior Christian Martin at second, sophomore Clay Grady at shortstop and junior Carson DeMartini at third. Sophomore Henry Cooke and senior Gehrig Ebel will handle the majority of catching duties.
The outfield will likely be sixth-year senior Chris Cannizzaro in left, grad transfer Ben Watson in center and junior Sam Tackett in right; that was the trio Tech rolled out in its first fall exhibition against Georgetown on Oct. 13.
While the members of Tech’s starting lineup shouldn’t be in question, the order is.
Michel (1.091 OPS, 11 home runs, 45 RBI in 2023) found himself leading off for the latter part of 2023, but head coach John Szefc noted his ability to be an effective middle-of-the-lineup hitter. The sophomore said he’d feel comfortable batting in any spot in the order at the team’s media day.
It’s likely that Michel bats third or cleanup alongside DeMartini (1.048 OPS, 10 home runs, 55 RBI in 2023). As the top two bats in the lineup, and perhaps the team’s best RBI duo, they should find themselves in the 3 and 4 slots.
In that case, Grady and Martin would likely fill in the top two spots in the lineup. Either could feasibly lead off due to their speed, but with Martin having the team’s second-highest OBP a year ago (.455) while Grady was seventh (.386), it may make more sense for the former to bat first.
After that, things get tricky. Cannizzaro batted all up and down the lineup in 2023 — including a brief stint in the 9 spot — but as the most-experienced Hokie in the outfield and the team’s second-highest returning bat in RBI (45 in 2023), it’s feasible that he bats fifth.
Watson hit .486 a year ago in Division-III with Elizabethtown and figures to be another bat that fits into the middle of the order. Rounding out the lineup would then be Tackett (.311 avg in 2023) — who Szefc is very high on entering this season — then the team’s starting catcher, which could be Ebel (.211) or Cooke (.296), with the other likely being a designated hitter. Senior infielder/outfielder Eddie Eisert (.246) could also find himself DH-ing.
Another hitter that could work his way into the lineup is outfielder Eddie Micheletti Jr., a senior transfer from George Washington, who hit .348 with a 1.022 OPS and 48 RBI in 2023 while starting all 55 games for the Revolutionaries. With an inexperienced outfield and no certain DH, the Wilmington, Del., native could wind up playing a good amount of baseball this spring.
Projection:
- Martin
- Grady
- Michel
- DeMartini
- Cannizzaro
- Watson
- Tackett
- Eisert/Micheletti Jr.
- Ebel/Cooke
Pitching
Unlike the lineup, Tech’s pitching situation is a bit foggy.
With senior Griffin Green unavailable for the season due to an elbow injury sustained last April, along with Drue Hackenberg and Anthony Arguelles departing for the pros, the Hokies have no returning ACC starts in their pitching staff. Thus, the offseason included a large overhaul, including bringing in seven transfers.
Szefc didn’t offer any insight or updates during the team’s media day. However, the context provided by Tech’s exhibitions and media availability imply that RHP Griffin Stieg and RHP Brady Kirtner will be its top two weekend starters.
Stieg was the Hokies’ starting pitcher in their aforementioned fall exhibition against Georgetown. Hopes are high for the sophomore in 2024 after a freshman season in which he gave up 14 earned runs and recorded 24 strikeouts in 18 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen.
Kirtner, who turned down a deal with the New York Mets after being drafted in the 12th round of the MLB Draft, announced at the team’s media day that he returned to school with the intention of finding his way into the starting lineup. The redshirt junior was by far the team’s best arm in the bullpen a year ago and handled the highest-leverage situations.
With a mid-90s fastball and gyroscopic mid-80s slider already in his arsenal, Kirtner said he has added a changeup to his game, which should help elevate his effectiveness, especially as a starter.
After that, things get difficult to project. The graduate transfer duo of Jeremy Neff (49 strikeouts in 48 innings with Richmond in 2023) and Grant Manning (3.58 ERA in 73 innings with Chapman in 2023) could certainly find themselves as Sunday starters.
The same can be said about sophomores Jacob Exum and Andrew Sentlinger, as well as fifth-year senior Matthew Siverling, who pitched a combined 73 innings out of the bullpen for the Hokies a year ago. Szefc and Kirtner both praised freshmen Madden Clement and Brett Renfrow at media day, too.
Schedule
Tech’s 2024 schedule is nothing to scoff at. Of the six ACC teams ranked in D1 Baseball’s preseason top 25, the Hokies will face four, all of which are in the top 15: No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 12 Duke, No. 14 Virginia and No. 15 North Carolina.
The good news for the Hokies is that they’ll get the top two teams at home. The Demon Deacons visit Blacksburg from April 5-7 and the Blue Devils come to town from April 19-21. Virginia Tech was able to steal a game in Winston-Salem last season and split two games in Durham with one contest being canceled due to weather.
Tech goes to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels from April 26-28 and closes its season in Charlottesville against the Cavaliers from May 16-18. It dropped a Saturday doubleheader to lose the series against Carolina a year ago but won its series against the Cavaliers.
The Hokies (34 votes) were picked to finish sixth in the ACC Coastal Division in the conference’s preseason coaches poll. The only other teams in the league with fewer votes were Notre Dame (31), Boston College (17) and Pitt (17). The good news for Tech is that it plays all three of those squads with a road trip to Chestnut Hill sandwiched in between home series against the Fighting Irish and Panthers in March.
The only other ACC series in that month is at Louisville, who is picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division. So, although the schedule ramps up in April, Tech has a real chance to take advantage of playing four of the other five teams at the bottom of the preseason standings in March before opening April against top-ranked Wake Forest.
Print
Unfortunately, a “foggy” situation with the pitching staff means a big ERA…again. No ACC innings for any potential starter is not a good thing. Hoping a few guys step up.
Take a look at 2022 – very similar preseason look for the Hokies. Staff and players quietly confident
Baseball still has divisions – that is interesting. I wonder if that will carry over to next season with the new additions. Looking forward to the season and hope some of the transfer pitchers turn out to be contributors.