It All Changed Quickly For Michigan State Commit Ottenbreit

Micah Ottenbreit RHP / 1B / Trenton, MI / 2021

TRENTON - Two years ago Micah Ottenbreit was looking at a future playing the sport of hockey.

But things changed quickly.

“I was playing Triple-A hockey but I gave it up a year-and-a-half ago to pick up baseball,” Ottenbreit reflected. “I had played baseball and hockey my whole life, but I hadn’t played elite travel baseball until my freshman year.”

Now an incoming junior at Trenton High School, Ottenbreit has not only taken up playing elite ball but will be part of an elite college program after a commitment to Michigan State in late July.

“I’d always thrown the ball hard, but I didn’t realize how hard compared to others until recently,” the 16th-rated 2021 in Michigan said. “I hadn’t realized I could do something in baseball until the last two years.”

Once that realization happened, Ottenbreit has drawn interest from Division I colleges, thanks in part to a fastball that has been the best at four PBR showcases over the past year. The most recent was the Future Games Trials where the hard-throwing right-hander was recognized for The Most Projectable Arm, Best Fastball and Best Breaking Ball.

“I’ve grown a lot,” Ottenbreit said about how he has improved since making baseball his top priority two years ago. “Last year I was 6-1 and now I’m almost 6-5. That’s really helped me in gaining velocity.”

There has also been a lot of work on his “other” pitches and command.

“My fastball has always been my go-to pitch,” noted Ottenbreit, who has a change and curve in his repertoire to go along with an 89 mph fastball. “In the last year I switched the grip on my curve and started throwing a knuckle curve. It has a sharper break and is actually my go-to pitch in the last year.”

Colleges like Michigan, Xavier and Eastern Michigan took notice, though the only visit for Ottenbreit outside of Michigan State was to Bowling Green.