Hard work paying off
Despite skill, Tennessee’s Daniels had long way to go before getting drafted by Astros
In the seventh inning of the season’s second game, Tennessee sent its most polarizing player to the plate. He stood 6-1 and weighed 215 pounds. Astros scouts graded his speed a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale. His power is plus-plus, too.
“He looks like an NFL player in that uniform,” Volunteers coach Tony Vitello said.
Zach Daniels destroyed a 1-0 fastball over the left-center field wall at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, stopping to admire his handiwork amid a 19-0 bludgeoning of Western Illinois. His lefthanded swing is smooth, producing the easy pop that, for so long, he could not consistently harness.
“This was a year that he finally started acting like the guy that looks like he does in the uniform,” Vitello said. “He was kind of a pushover as a freshman (who) kind of focused on the negative.”
Daniels defines the word “toolsy.” His potential is apparent, but production is almost nonexistent. He must be atop the list of college prospects who suffered most from a pandemic-shortened season. A .357 batting average and 1.228 OPS in 56 at-bats this year is intriguing, but Daniels’ past struggles are difficult to overlook.
He struck out 69 times in his first 153 collegiate at-bats. One of his fundamental baserunning mistakes cost the Volunteers a game. Coaches had to instruct him how to properly walk back to the dugout after an unsuccessful at-bat.“All or nothing” was his early approach.
Vitello acknowledges there were some discussions — “healthy ones,” he says — about Daniels’ future in the program. Character or mindset was never questioned, just overall skill.
“You date back to freshman year, he was not a good baseball player,” Vitello said. “He would excite you in batting practice but didn’t really fulfill that potential in games or scrimmages. You can call it raw, but he was a very good athlete that wasn’t good at baseball.”
Now, the Astros are left to wonder which player they’ll receive after taking Daniels in the fourth round of this year’s draft. Director of player evaluation Charles Cook acknowledged Daniels’ “inconsistent” college career Thursday night. Even last summer, in the
Cape Cod League, Daniels struck out 37 times in 77 at-bats. His batting average was .169.
Houston’s scouts saw Daniels in person earlier this spring before the sport shut down, allaying some initial trepidation. Vitello and Astros domestic scouting supervisor Kris Gross have a longstanding relationship from their amateur playing days in Missouri.
“We thought the tool package was a really exciting get for us at that pick,” Cook said.
Development will be crucial in a farm system that remains in dire need of outfielders. A major league exodus is imminent.
George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick will be free agents this winter. Beyond Kyle Tucker and Myles Straw, little depth exists at the upper minor leagues. The team’s two highest ranked outfield prospects — Colin Barber and Jordan Brewer — are 2019 draftees.
“I feel like I still have a lot of work to do, but with the Astros, they’re going to help me utilize that potential that I have stored away,” Daniels said Thursday night. “I’m ready to bring it out because I’m a hard worker, and I’m ready to bring it out there.”
Daniels does not dispute Vitello’s blunt assessments. He arrived at Tennessee, in his words, as “just a regular athlete who played baseball.” His offensive approach was obvious — either hit a gapper or swing and miss. He could not lay off breaking balls in the dirt. Occasionally, he’d select a good pitch and offer a good swing. It almost always was a foul ball.
“Anyone who is around him wants to suggest something because you kind of want to give him the one thing that clicks and puts him over the edge,” Vitello said. “You have the combination of a guy who looks good in (batting practice) but he’s wasting the good pitches to hit and chasing the ones that nobody could ever hit. That’s never good. It wasn’t one day, wasn’t one adjustment, but he just kept grinding.”
Few question Daniels’ work ethic. That, coupled with a magnetic personality and good character, convinced Vitello to keep Daniels around.
Brilliance sometimes flashed. As a sophomore, he struck a crucial base hit against Georgia ace Emerson Hancock, whom the Seattle Mariners drafted sixth overall Wednesday. His speed tantalized. His swing needed more consistency.
“(My coaches at Tennessee) really helped me with my approach, pitch recognition and just hunting pitches in certain situations,” Daniels said. “They stuck with me, so that definitely built some confidence right there. “I grew a lot.”
Daniels’ emergence in the middle of Tennessee’s batting order coincided with the Volunteers’ revival. Long considered second fiddle to Vanderbilt, Tennessee was off to a 15-2 start before the pandemic arrived. The Volunteers won three times in the Round Rock Classic at Dell Diamond.
Daniels was named the tournament’s MVP. He sparked a win against then-No. 1 Texas Tech with an inside-the-park home run. Many wonder what Daniels could have done against Southeastern Conference pitching, whether his torrid start could carry over in the country’s premier baseball conference.
“The pitches he was finally laying off, the power to all fields and finally adding some singles to his game, to me, that’s not going to go away,” Vitello said. “I don’t think anyone’s going to dominate SEC pitching, but the success, in my mind, wasn’t going to go anywhere.”
If it did, Daniels’ stock could have skyrocketed. Reality put him here, with questions surrounding him but upside unmistakable. Daniels watched the draft in his Knoxville apartment and said his selection “came out of nowhere.” Immediately after, in a team group text message, Vitello typed three words — hard (expletive) work.
“By no means is he perfect,” Vitello said. “But he earned it.”