8 days till FSU baseball: Caleb Cali brings strong bat to roster as a freshman

Caleb Cali brings a large frame and a powerful bat to Florida State as a freshman. The freshman is the third biggest position player on the time, behind fellow freshman Dylan Simmons and Robby Martin. Cali stands 6’2 and weighs 211 pounds as he is an imposing figure in the right-handed batter’s box. The corner infielder comes out of Montverde Academy in Montverde, FL. The Florida-native was FSU’s second-rated position player in the 2019 recruiting class, as he was ranked the 404th overall player in the nation and the sixth best third baseman in Florida. Entering his freshman season, Cali is ranked the 63rd best freshmen in the ACC

The Montverde-native has a quick, compact swing that allows him to get around on fastballs at a consistent rate. With his large frame and present strength, he can still hit for power to all parts of the field. Cali looked like he may need some more time before being an everyday starter, as he struggled to lay off some breaking balls out of the zone in fall, as a lot of freshmen do. With a short swing and a large frame, the offensive ceiling for Cali is quite high if he can lower the swing-and-miss rate throughout the year. During fall, the freshman went 3-13 with a double, two walks, and five strikeouts at the plate.

Cali mostly played the hot corner in fall, but also saw some action at first. After Tyler Martin was added to the roster and Cooper Swanson permanently moved over to third, Cali was switched over to first permanently. Still long term, Cali has the athleticism and arm strength to play third base. Since getting to FSU, the freshman has put on nearly 20 pounds to fill out his frame, which likely had something to do with the move to first. He could play either corner INF position down the road.

With the numbers on the infield, Cali will likely be a redshirt candidate in 2020. The Florida-native will still likely make an impact with his bat at some point at FSU. The pop in the bat is there and he is athletic enough to play either corner INF spot. Depending on the 2020 draft and graduation status, Cali could be an everyday starter for the Seminoles in 2021. A year of development could be good for the freshman as he learns how to recognize pitches and lower the K-rate. Besides Simmons, Cali likely has the highest ceiling with the bat of any FSU freshmen.