Top pick Susac signs, takes BP at Coliseum

OAKLAND -- Daniel Susac can vividly recall watching his brother, Andrew, step into the box at then-AT&T Park in San Francisco to make his Major League debut. Facing Clayton Kershaw, Andrew grounded out to the third baseman, but that didn’t diminish Daniel’s feeling of excitement over seeing his older brother’s dream fulfilled.

Exactly eight years since that memorable day, Daniel received his own special moment at the ballpark across the bay. Selected 19th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft last week, Susac officially signed with the A’s on Tuesday. After putting pen to paper, the standout catcher from University of Arizona took the field with his new team for a full pregame workout prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Astros.

“It’s really cool,” Susac said. “Somebody in our family mentioned that we came down here the same day as my brother’s big league debut. It’s pretty awesome.”

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Susac signed for $3,531,200, a source told MLB.com’s Jim Callis, which is full slot value for the No. 19 pick. He’ll head to Phoenix on Wednesday to get his professional career started in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League along with 2022 second-round pick Henry Bolte, who officially signed with the A’s on Monday, before joining one of Oakland’s Minor League affiliates later this summer.

Before that journey gets underway, though, Susac got a taste of the Coliseum atmosphere on Tuesday. He was accompanied by several family members who made the 1 1/2-hour drive down from Roseville, Calif., including brothers Matt and Andrew -- whom Daniel credits as his inspiration for falling in love with baseball at a young age.

“He’s been huge for me," said Daniel of his older brother. "Going through the process, it’s a great source that a lot of people don’t have. I’m going to get the most out of it. Asking questions every day about baseball, Minor League life and Major League life. He just said to soak it all in.”

“You get to go through their age and see them mess up, so it helps you a little bit,” Susac said. “They also beat up on me a little bit. A nice little brotherly love. But we’re all best friends today. That lit the competitive nature inside of me. Being with them my whole life brought the most out of me.”

Ranked as the second-best catcher of this year’s Draft by MLB Pipeline, the A’s will be adding an elite college bat in Susac who slashed .351/.412/.586 with 24 home runs, 43 doubles and 126 RBIs over 125 games across the past two years at Arizona.

Behind the plate, Susac is regarded for his strong arm and relationship-building with a pitching staff, receiving rave reviews about his leadership qualities that he said were developed while playing quarterback as a two-sport star at Jesuit High School.

“I think playing multiple sports as a kid helped me a lot by seeing two different types of going about the game,” Susac said. “Being a quarterback really helped me, also being a catcher. It’s two big leadership roles that you have to do, or else you’re gonna get eaten alive.”

The addition of Susac marks the second time in three years the A’s have drafted a catcher with their first-round pick and gives Oakland a formidable group of backstops throughout the system. It starts at the Major League level with Gold Glove Award-winner Sean Murphy and extends down to the Minor Leagues with Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom, who rank as the organization's top two prospects.

“It’s awesome,” Susac said of the A’s catching depth. “More brains to pick. They’re great at the game. I know Tyler pretty well, so that’ll be really cool to play with him again. It’s always great to be in great competition because the best players get the best out of everybody else, too.”