Frisch officially done for the year

I believe Dr. Meister is the Orthopedic Surgeon of the Texas Rangers.

Beaverbeliever's link above defaulted to subscriber only....Here is the full article:

By Joe Freeman | The Oregonian/OregonLive
The Oregon State baseball team’s chase for another national championship will move forward without a key piece of its weekend rotation.

Will Frisch, a hard-throwing right-hander penciled in as the Beavers’ Sunday starter, is scheduled to undergo elbow surgery next week and miss the 2022 season, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive Tuesday afternoon. Frisch said he has a Grade 2 partial tear of his UCL, which will be repaired by Dr. Keith Meister, an Texas orthopedic surgeon who also serves as the team doctor for the Texas Rangers.

“It’s part of the game,” Frisch said. “I’m not too nervous. I just want to get it done, do it right, and set my eyes on something heading forward.”


Frisch suffered his injury two weeks before the start of the regular season, when he felt “extreme pain” after tossing a pitch during a scrimmage against teammates at Goss Stadium. He initially feared the worst, but held out hope that rest and treatment would alleviate the issue and allow him to return this season.

But the pain never went away and after consulting with two doctors, including Meister, Frisch’s initial fears were confirmed. The good news, he said, is that Meister is hopeful the nature of the injury will only require a repair of the ligament rather than full reconstructive surgery, aka Tommy John surgery. That would be a less severe surgery and likely allow for a quicker recovery. But Meister won’t know for sure until he lays eyes on Frisch’s UCL during the procedure.

Either way, Frisch can take a little solace in knowing that last season he watched a pair of teammates — current closer Mitchell Verburg and last year’s ace Kevin Abel — make full recoveries from elbow surgeries.

“You see it all the time in the big leagues,” Frisch said. “Learning to trust your body is the biggest part. But these doctors are really good at what they do — especially the doctor I see — so I just have to do my due diligence to get back.”


As for the fifth-ranked Beavers (11-2), they will have to press on this season without their Sunday starter. Frisch had a promising freshman season in 2021, when he was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and earned first team all-Pac-12 Conference honors.

He spent time as a starter and a reliever, finishing with a 3-0 record, 2.38 ERA and 54 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .222 batting average, in 56 2/3 innings. Frisch was electric down the stretch, allowing just four earned runs in his final 10 appearances, seemingly setting himself up for a breakout sophomore season.

Then he felt that pain two weeks before the Beavers’ opener.

At the very least, Frisch said, the Beavers have played exceptionally well in his absence.

“It’s difficult because I definitely want to go out there and play,” he said. “But when we’re doing well, I’m happy. I would rather have us wining with me off the field, then losing with me on the field.”