Ganzel appeared in 45 games as catcher for the 1886 Detroit Wolverines team that compiled an 87-36 record and finished in second place in a close pennant race with Chicago. Defensively, Ganzel struggled in his first season at Detroit, committing 37 errors in only 45 games as catcher—the fourth highest total among the league's catchers. Offensively, Ganzel improved dramatically with a .272 batting average that was more than 100 points higher than his prior year's tally. Ganzel's performance also earned him a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating of 1.1 for 1886.