A's Spring Breakout spotlight: Daniel Susac
This year Major League Baseball is doing something pretty cool by bringing the focus to some of the top minor leaguers around the game in what they're calling "Spring Breakout." Essentially, it'll be a game played between teams of every organization's top prospects with the games being played from March 14-17. For the A's, their game will be on Friday, March 15 against the San Francisco Giants at 4:05 as Game 2 of a doubleheader. The first game will be a regular spring training contest.
The full roster for the A's can be viewed here, but each day this week we're going to spotlight one member of the A's Spring Breakout roster. Today, that player is Daniel Susac.
The 22-year-old backstop was the A's top pick in the 2022 Draft, selected No. 19 overall. He's probably about a year away from making his debut, having reached Double-A for all of 13 games last season. He hit .280 with a .304 OBP and a homer in that brief stint with Midland.
The rest of his season came with High-A Lansing, and at the dish he was impressive. Susac ended up hitting .303 with a .373 OBP and seven dingers, walking 9.5% of the time and striking out at a 21.5% clip. Overall, he was 28% better than league average with the bat in his first full season as a pro ballplayer and his .303 average was tops in the Midwest League.
Over at MLB Pipeline, he is ranked as the A's No. 6 prospect, right behind third base hopeful Darell Hernaiz. As for his defense, Pipeline had this to say in their write-up, "Susac’s defensive prowess was part of the package that made him such a highly ranked catcher in his Draft class. His overall catching skills, particularly his receiving, improved as his first full season went along. Lauded for his strong arm and natural leadership characteristics, he will look to continue his impact on both sides of the diamond as he progresses through the system."
FanGraphs' evaluation suggests that there is room for him to add some power to his game. They currently give him a 60 out of 70 in terms of his development in raw power. Essentially that means that they feel he's capable of a 70 grade, but they have him currently slotted at a 60 on the 20-80 scout scale. His game power is lagging a little behind as well, rating him as a 35 of 55.
He's going to be an interesting player to keep an eye on in the A's system this year, not only as a former first rounder that had an excellent first season in pro ball, but also in terms of how hard they're pushing him. At the big-league level they already have Shea Langeliers as the full-time backstop, with Tyler Soderstrom the presumed favorite to land backup duties behind the dish heading into this season.
How Susac performs in 2024 could play a role in the futures of both Langeliers and Soderstrom. If it looks like he'll be ready for the 2025 season, then the A's will have to move some pieces around to make room for him.