3 days till FSU baseball: Danny Andzel brings depth to middle INF

After spending his first three years in high school at Chiles in Tallahassee, Danny Andzel spent his senior year at the TNXL Baseball Academy with fellow freshmen Tyrell Brewer and Doug Kirkland. Coming into FSU, Andzel was rated the 65th shortstop in the state of Florida by Perfect Game. Since stepping foot on campus, the freshman has played mostly second and third base as he was in the middle of two separate position battles. Andzel has a pretty good frame for a middle INF, standing 5’11 and 185 pounds. As a freshman, he may not get many opportunities, but he has the ability to make an impact when called upon.

Andzel has a pretty advanced bat for a freshman and middle INF. He doesn’t have consistent home run power, but he has powers to all parts of the field and consistently drives balls to the left and right-center field gaps. He gets low in his stance and takes a short stride and load for a quick and compact swing. He put together a couple of good at-bats in FSU’s scrimmage the other day, including one of just five hits. One weakness so far has been the K-rate, but that should drop as he develops and sees more college pitching. In the fall, the Tallahassee-native went 2-11 with 5 K’s at the dish.

In the field, Andzel has smooth actions but can sometimes pull his head too early leading to some errors with the glove. In the fall he committed two errors while playing second base. He has the arm strength and athletic ability to play second base, shortstop, or third base.

In 2020, Andzel will likely be the backup at second and short stop. The fielding and strikeout rate will likely keep him from being an everyday starter, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him get a couple spot starts and pinch hitting opportunities. The freshman is a piece that should be one of the favorites to start at SS next year if De Sedas is drafted. Andzel is a hitter I could see being a doubles machine with the deep gaps in the outfield at Dick Howser Stadium. If the contact rate can come up a bit, he’ll be a starter in the future at FSU.