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Giants' Daniel Susac: Favorite for backup catcher role
Rotowire
Susac is viewed as the favorite to win the Giants' backup catcher job, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Eric Haase and Jesus Rodriguez are also in the mix to back up Patrick Bailey, though Susac appears likely to earn that role. The 24-year-old catcher was selected by the Athletics with the 19th overall pick in 2022 and has yet to make his big-league debut. He was left unprotected ahead of the Rule 5 Draft in December, and he was selected fourth overall by the Twins before being sent to San Francisco. Through eight Cactus League games with the Giants, Susac has slashed .350/.381/.450 with two runs scored, two doubles and one RBI across 21 plate appearances. He recorded a 26.8 percent strikeout rate with Triple-A Las Vegas last season, so improving his plate discipline and reducing strikeouts will continue to be a point of emphasis.
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Giants' Daniel Susac: Shipped to Giants
Rotowire
The Twins selected Susac with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday and then traded him to the Giants, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs reports.
Daniel's older brother Andrew was drafted by the Giants in 2011 and played his best two seasons in the majors with San Francisco in 2014 and 2015 as Buster Posey's backup, so it's understandable that Posey, the Giants president of baseball operations, would then trade for the younger Susac. The 24-year-old catcher was the No. 19 overall pick in 2022 and was left unprotected by the Athletics after he slashed .275/.349/.483 with 18 home runs and a 26.8 percent strikeout rate in 97 games in the Pacific Coast League. He is a fine defender, but Susac is a very aggressive hitter who will likely chase and strike out quite a bit if the Giants keep him on the big-league roster this season.
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Athletics' Daniel Susac: Makes impression in spring
Rotowire
Susac, who went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a three-run shot in a Cactus League win over the Reds on Friday, is likely to begin the season at Double-A Midland but could conceivably get a major-league opportunity soon, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Susac, a first-round pick in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, has shown plenty of upside as a hitter during his first two seasons as a professional, and his success at High-A Lansing to begin last season resulted in a promotion to Midland before the end of the campaign. Susac slashed .280/.304/.360 against Double-A arms in a 13-game cameo, and if he's able to pick up where he left off with the RockHounds, he could soon find himself at Triple-A Las Vegas, at minimum. A's director of player development Ed Sprague believes there's still more power to unlock with Susac and also praised the way the 22-year-old's defensive work behind the dish improved as the 2023 campaign unfolded.
