What impressed Jay Johnson the most about catcher Daniel Susac’s debut wasn’t easily detectable in the box score.
The Arizona Wildcats freshman had only two hits in 12 at-bats during the season-opening series against Ball State. That’ll come.
It was Susac’s handling of pitchers and pitches that grabbed Johnson’s attention.
Susac caught 30 of 38 innings. He yielded only one passed ball and one wild pitch. He did not commit an error. Arizona’s pitchers had a 3.10 ERA when Susac was behind the plate.
“I thought this was his best weekend of handling the pitching staff, of blocking, of receiving of any weekend that he’s been here,” said Johnson, whose team opens a four-game series against Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday at Hi Corbett Field.
“He does a good job of building rapport with the pitchers. I think they would tell you that. It doesn’t really feel like this is his first go-round.”
Although new to college baseball, Susac described himself as an “old soul.” He also came to Arizona with a wealth of experience he could tap into.
His brothers’.
Daniel’s oldest sibling, Andrew, has been a major-league catcher since 2014. He’s currently a non-roster invitee with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Andrew Susac played two seasons at Oregon State, where one of his coaches was current UA pitching coach Nate Yeskie. Middle brother Matt spent two seasons as a pitcher at Nevada, where he played under Johnson and two of his assistants.
Andrew and Matt followed different paths. Their baseball odysseys helped inform Daniel’s outlook on the sport.
“The main thing I’ve gotten, which is why I come off as such a serious guy, is baseball’s very humbling,” Daniel Susac said. “I got to notice that a little bit in the fall when Yeskie knew how to pitch me. You start to learn everybody’s the same here. You gotta work harder.”
Susac’s primary focus, for now, is on being the best receiver he can be. That work goes beyond the fundamentals of playing the position.
Catchers have to get to know their pitchers. Each one has a distinct personality.
“The biggest part about it is getting to know everyone on a personal level,” said Susac, a prized prospect from Jesuit High School in Roseville, California. “You have some pitchers you can’t criticize too much; they start to think about it too much. Then you have some that are the opposite, where you’ve really got to get on them and it lights that fire.”
Susac is the third freshman who has started at catcher for Johnson during his time at Arizona. Cesar Salazar was the first, in 2016. Austin Wells succeeded Salazar three years later.
Veteran reliever Vince Vannelle has worked with Wells and Susac. They appear to have little in common on the surface.
“They’re two totally different people,” Vannelle said. “Wells was more high wire, high intensity, just really high energy. Dan’s really serious. You’ve gotta talk to him to get him to loosen up sometimes.
“But at the same time, they are both very elite at what they do. And over time, you’ll be able to tell – Dan’s here. He’s going to be very good for us.”
Susac didn’t initially commit to Arizona. He intended to follow Andrew’s cleat prints to Oregon State. But after longtime Beavers coach Pat Casey retired in 2018, and Yeskie moved from OSU to Arizona the following summer, Daniel Susac changed course. Yeskie teaming up with Johnson felt like two worlds colliding, Susac said.
With Wells and Matthew Dyer departing for the pros, the catching position opened up. Susac started three of the first four games. Second-year vet Kaden Hopson gave Susac a breather for the first eight innings Monday.
Although almost a year elapsed between UA baseball games, Susac said his freshman year has gone by fast.
“It kind of took some getting used to,” he said. “A lot more is expected of you, as it should be. Just a quick learning curve. Had to grow up real quick.”
Susac has plenty of room for growth. He can add more muscle to his 6-4, 205-pound frame. He can improve as a hitter, something Salazar, a defensive ace, did steadily over his three seasons.
But Johnson likes where Susac is.
“He has a really good baseball mind,” Johnson said. “There’ll be bumps along the way, but we have four-year players who had some bumps this weekend. Baseball’s not easy.
“He’ll respond well to the things he needs to do better. And I think our pitchers trust throwing to him a lot.”
Guests allowed
The UA is planning to allow a limited number of player and coach guests at baseball, softball and soccer games this weekend and moving forward.
Health and safety guidelines still will apply. No allowance has been made for the general public. But it’s a positive development for the players and their families.
The Wildcats had to generate their own noise at Hi Corbett vs. Ball State. The pitchers, stationed next to the dugout, tried their best to keep the team energized.
“We kind of just feed off of each other,” Vannelle said. “When you are on the mound and you’re battling and competing and you hear your teammates behind you, it’s a really big lift.”
Inside pitch
- Southeastern Louisiana opened the season with a three-game sweep over Mississippi Valley State. The Lions outscored the Delta Devils 66-0 and came out of the weekend leading the nation in 14 statistical categories.
SLU was picked to finish third in the Southland Conference in the league’s preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. The Lions went 6-10 in 2020 and 33-27 in ’19. They made the NCAA Tournament in three of Coach Matt Riser’s first seven seasons (2014, ’16, ’17).
Johnson described Arizona’s 2021 schedule as “hellacious.” “There are no layup wins on the schedule,” he said. “Our goal is to be better this week than we were last week; it was to be better Monday than we were on the weekend. And we’re gonna stick to that, because I like our team. I like the pieces of our team. I’m excited about where we’re headed and looking forward to this next c
- hallenge.”
Johnson plans to use the same starting rotation as the first weekend. Right-hander Chase Silseth will start Game 1, followed by righty Chandler Murphy, lefty Garrett Irvin and righty TJ Nichols. Johnson said Irvin should be able to “add to his volume” in his second start after being limited to 30 pitches in his 2021 debut.
