June 7, 2011

Giants take Andrew Susac in Round 2

The San Francisco Giants selected catcher Andrew Susac from Oregon State in the 2nd round of the First Year Player Draft Tuesday.

Susac, 21, was originally picked in the 16th round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not sign.

He was named as the No. 5 prospect in the Cape Cod League by Baseball America last fall and played in the Cape Cod League All-Star game as a member of the Falmouth Commodores where he batted .290 with six doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI and 13 walks in 29 games.

As a freshman with the Beavers, the Sacramento native made 42 appearances, including 33 starts at catcher. He hit .260 with four doubles, two home runs and 13 runs batted in and finished with six multi-hit games and two multi-RBI efforts.

Susac attended Jesuit High School, where he earned first-team all-city honors and Delta River League MVP honors. He was also named First-Team All-State and ESPN First-Team All-State as well as Rawlings First-Team All-State. In 2008, Susac played in the 2008 Aflac All-American Game at Dodger Stadium. After his senior year at Jesuit, he was rated the No. 40 player in the nation by Baseball America.

Susac was ranked 35th overall by MLB.com and 27th overall by Keith Law, with Law projecting him as the second-best catcher in this draft. According to MLB.com, “[Susac] does have average raw power, mostly to the pull side, with more gap power to other fields. That could mean 15-20 homers annually, if he can make enough contact to tap into that power, something some have concerns about. He’s a bit of a guess hitter and uses a big leg lift in his swing.”

Here’s some video of Susac, taken earlier this year: