Wolverine Slugger Mitch Voit is a 'Great Player' with a Special Future

Michigan coach Tracy Smith compares Voit favorably to Kyle Schwarber, Spencer Torkelson -- two proven MLB power hitters he coached in college, too

Photos Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Wolverine assistant head coach Jake Valentine applies pre-game eye black to star second baseman Mitch Voit.

No. 3 hitter Mitch Voit gets his bat out quickly Thursday to send a hanging curve from Indiana’s Ryan Kraft beyond the center field wall at Fisher Stadium.

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan junior second baseman Mitch Voit has a chance to be something special at the next level – a power-hitter with a sweet swing who can hit for average and play outstanding defense. He was named Thursday as a semi-finalist for the Dick Howser Award going to the nation’s top college player.

“He’s a great player who is going to play for a long time,” Wolverine head coach Tracy Smith said after the 8-7 loss here to Indiana Thursday night, when Voit had a homer, double and three RBI. “We’ll let the people in the draft rooms decide [what round he’s selected], but I’d assume he’s going to go in the first day at some point.”

The first three rounds of the draft are conducted July 13 in Atlanta, and ESPN has Voit slotted at No. 66 on its Top 150. So, he figures to go late second round or early third round.

Smith knows a thing or two about great power hitters. He recruited and coached Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber at Indiana and Tigers long-ball hitter Spencer Torkelson at Arizona State.

Any similarities between Voit and those high first-rounders?

“They’re all good,” said Smith. “Good players and good kids. And they’re hard workers, too. I’ve had the opportunity and good fortune to coach a lot of good players, and he’s certainly in the top upper-echelon of that list.”

Erik Bakich recruited Voit before departing for Clemson, but Voit stayed with Smith and has flourished.

When asked to describe Voit’s power, Smith said, “He’s just a good player. He’s got a simple approach. He works at his craft. He works in the weight room. He works in the batting cages.”

Voit also pitched his first two seasons (9-4, 4.67 ERA) while making the All-Big Ten freshman team as a third baseman and reliever. He played first base and pitched as a sophomore to become an All-Big Ten first team utility player selection and a member of the Big Ten’s all-tournament team.

He can do it all at several different positions, and also better understands what pitchers are trying to do against him because he was once one of them.

Voit broke a tie for fourth on Michigan’s career homers list with his 34^th overall and 13^th of the season in the first inning. He absolutely crushed the hanging curve from Ryan Kraft, sending it about 400 feet over the wall in dead-center to also score shortstop Benny Casillas, who had singled and is leading the Big Ten with a .410 average.

“He got us going after a tough [top of the] first inning,” noted Smith. “We jumped right back on his back and tied it up. That was good for the guys to know we were still in this thing.”

Casey Close, who played on some great teams at Michigan (1983-86) with future Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, is tops with 46 homers. Nate Recknagel (2006-08) is next with 43, and Coley Crank (2009-12) is just ahead of Voit with 35 homers.

Power is launched by the legs just as a pitcher’s velocity is connected to them.

Just how strong are those tree-trunk legs for the 6-foot, 201-pound Voit?

“Pretty darned strong,” said Smith. “He’s a good athlete and his athleticism is above average. He works on it – takes his body seriously in the weight room [and with] nutrition.

“I say all the time, ‘If you want to be great, you have to make it a lifestyle.’ And I think he does a pretty good job with that.”

Hard work is essential to Voit’s success.

“We have a great strength coach in Trevor Klump,” said Voit. “But, really, it’s just a consistency in taking care of your body. All the little injury-prevention things that you do throughout the week.”

Voit’s a leader, and a great example for his teammates to follow.

“On any baseball team,” said Smith, “if your best players aren’t your hardest workers, you’re going to have a problem – a real tough time being a special team. So, those attributes [for Voit] are similar to some of the other great players I’ve had as well.”

It was decided that he would focus solely on hitting and playing his position this year, while putting pitching on the shelf.

“I mean he had the injury last year and he’s a competitive person,” said Smith, pointing to Voit’s arm injury that he pitched through. “If you ask him, he’d probably want to pitch. But he’s valuable for us at second. He’s been taking runs off the board all year [defensively]. And with what’s in front for him, we’re always going to play for Michigan, obviously.

“With the pitching depth in front of him, I just think it’s the best move all around for both parties. And, also, not to risk anything for his future. Because he’s going to play a long time.”

Voit said, “Overall, there’s a lot of things that go into it. But it levels down to that we have a lot of depth in pitching, and overall it’s just the best decision for me to stay at second base.”

Voit loves to study hitting, and I asked who his favorite hitters have been.

“When I was a kid – it was [Milwaukee Brewers star] Ryan Braun,” said Voit, the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 at Whitefish Bay High in Milwaukee. “But my swing is modeled after how I feel my body best moves.”

Has he ever analyzed hitters such as Schwarber and Torkelson?

“I have,” said Voit. “But I take more of their approach than I do their swings.”

What does he like about their approaches?

“They’re always ready for a heater,” Voit said with a smile.

His love of baseball comes through when talking about any facet of the game. And his smile is as good as his swing.

Voit leads the team in homers (13), RBI (56), triples (3), walks (38) and steals (14 on 16 attempts). He’s second with a .351 batting average and 16 doubles.

He’s likely to be drafted no later than the third round – which is where Michigan 2019 College World Series outfield stars Jordan Brewer, Jesse Franklin and Jordan Nwogu were all selected.

That trio hasn’t made it to the Majors yet, but will Voit be the first Wolverine since two-time All-Star infielder Jake Cronenworth of the San Diego Padres to establish himself as a major factor at the highest level of play?

The only thing for sure is that he will get the shot to prove himself. I asked him to share his thoughts on his next step.

“As long as we keep winning,” assured Voit, “everything will fall in line.”

The Big Ten tournament in Omaha is next week, and there are two regular season games remaining for Michigan (32-20, 15-13 conference) on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.) at Fisher Stadium.

If you haven’t seen Voit play, it would be worth the trip to see the Wolverines’ best player in recent years likely appear in his final two games in Ann Arbor. He’ll have to pass up far too much bonus money to stay, and a golden opportunity awaits.