Fantasy : A Young Catcher worth Starting in 2008!!!! : Extra Innings

On June 12, of this year Kurt Suzuki made his first major league appearance and many more are sure to come in the future. Kurt Suzuki of the Oakland A’s was handed the position when the Cubs acquired Jason Kendall from the A’s. He has been very good with the pitching staff and is holding his own against tough A.L. West pitching.

So far this year he is hitting .255 with 7 home runs and 36 RBI’s. What is more impressive is the fact he has only been in the A’s organization for only 3 years. At age 23 he is on the verge of becoming one of elite catchers in the game. Born in Wailuki, Hawaii he had a scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii, but decided to enroll at Cal State University, Fullerton as a walk on.

A program that has a long list of alumni such as Phil Nevin, Mark Kotsay, Reed Johnson, Chad Cordero, Fullerton is known for their baseball program and that is why Kurt decided to go there. As a walk-on he earned a scholarship quickly and began to lead the team as their starting catcher.

In 2004, he led CSUF to a National Championship. Thanks to Kurt Klutch who got a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the Titans a 3-2 win over the Texas Longhorns (whose closer, Huston Street, was also drafted by the A's in 2004). The junior decided to leave school early and put his name into the draft.

That same year, he won the Johnny Bench Award as the country's top collegiate catcher in 2004. He was also selected All-American by two publications, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.

A 2^nd round pick out of the Cal State Fullerton, in 2004, Suzuki has risen very quickly through the Oakland A’s organization. His nickname of Kurt Klutch has stayed with him in the major leagues.

In 15 plate appearances with runners on 3^rd base with two outs he is batting .553. Over half of his RBI’s (19) have come with 2 outs. He has shown the poise and clutch to come through when the game is on the line.

With Jarrod Saltalamacchia of the Rangers and Russell Martin on the Dodgers are regarded as two of the best young catchers in the game, if Suzuki can continue to improve each season he will be among the best catchers in the game.

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