Catcher Daniel Susac ranks as one of the best all around players at his position. Reigning from Jesuit High School in Sacramento, California, 19-year old Susac has good size at 6’3″ tall and 205 pounds. He plans to follow the path of the four former Jesuit players to play in the majors. His brother, Andrew Susac, and 12-year veteran pitcher, J.P. Howell are among that group.
Strengths
Daniel Susac brings a lot to the table. he is a young, switch-hitting catcher, as well as a multi-sport athlete, being the starting quarterback for Jesuit High School. His numbers from the scouting service, Perfect Game USA, rank him in the 99th percentile of catchers in terms of exit velocity as well as throwing velocity from home to second (87 MPH, national HS avg: 75 MPH). His pop time of 1.82 was almost .20 seconds faster than the High School average, ranking him in the 96th percentile nationally.
As for conventional counting statistics, Susac hit .667 in 3 games this year in his shortened senior year, but did hit .378 with three home runs across 30 games his junior year. Susac also sported a .454 OBP and 1.027 OPS that junior year, with a mere eight strikeouts.
As for MLB scouting grades (20-80 scale), Susac was given a hit rating of 50, and a power rating of 50, a good foundation to build upon as he grows into more contact and power with age. His run rating of 40 is about expected from a catcher. His field rating of 50 and an impressive arm rating of 60, lead to an overall rating of 50.
MLB.com ranks Susac as the 67th overall among 2020 draft prospects, and eighth-best catching prospect. Among high school draft prospects, he is 29th overall. It is likely that he will hear his name called in the third to fourth round, but a team with money to spare may jump for him earlier.
Weaknesses
Daniel Susac has all the potential to become an all around great hitter and fielder. As for the power potential, it is just that at the moment, potential. Susac only has three home runs in 30 games.
There is room to grow offensively if he can keep the strikeouts down, and the walks up. A .378 average in high school is not eye-popping, but his 1.027 OPS is a great building block.
Scouts have always noticed that Susac tends to let his swing get long and uses a slow release for his cannon of an arm.
Susac is also a University of Arizona commit. Therefore, it is possible that he may not sign with a team if he is not drafted early enough or given a signing bonus that will change his mind.
MLB Comparison
Although an obvious comparison is Daniel’s brother, Andrew, Daniel is a different hitter. His offensive production has the potential to produce Brian McCann type numbers.
Aside from this, his defense is worthy of comparing to St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. The arm strength and pop time are there, and Susac uses his big build to block balls in the dirt. A Molina-type defense may be a reach, but his 1.82 average pop time would’ve been the best in MLB in 2019. A more realistic comparison would be Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, a skilled defensive catcher with some power.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
