FSU baseball: USF transfer Daniel Cantu commits to the Noles

FSU baseball head coach Link Jarrett continues to retool the roster after the worst season in Tallahassee in most of our lifetimes.

The Noles have added a solid mixture of offense and pitchers from the transfer portal since the season concluded.

I figured they’d add a couple of more pitchers and maybe one more offensive weapon if they found the right fit.

It looks like that’s the case on the latter.

The latest addition came Wednesday afternoon when USF transfer Daniel Cantu announced he would play his final season in Tallahassee via his Twitter account:

Cantu lists as an outfielder and first baseman with the Bulls. He hit .306 with 11 home runs, 41 RBi, and a .399 on-base percentage. He struck out 43 times in 192 at-bats (22.3 percent) and walked 18 times, not including 13 hit-by-pitches.

Cantu is a lefty, and that’s one thing Link Jarrett wanted to address this offseason, providing more variety up-and-down the lineup. Cantu’s ability to play first base provides some flexibility to move James Tibbs to the outfield or to designated hitter.

I’ve mentioned previously, FSU only had two guys with double-digit home runs last season. They’ve added at least three guys who had double-digit home runs last season. That should help the FSU offense look quite a bit different. Cantu should fit nicely, hitting for average, some power, and the ability to get on base at a high percentage.

FSU lacked nearly all of those qualities last year. The challenge for Link Jarrett now, is finding 1-2 more quality pitchers that can start on the mound. I think FSU has done a solid job addressing the bullpen with the additions thus far, if they can find some quality starting pitching?

I believe they will be a team that finds its way back to the postseason in 2024.