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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Giants had only one player listed on Baseball America’s annual list of the game’s top 100 prospects, but looking at that lone name will still bring plenty of smiles to the faces of team executives. The Giant, after all, is the only one of the top 100 prospects with a World Series ring. 

As he settles into big league camp for the fourth time, Andrew Susac is in a rare spot. He’s by all accounts one of the best catching prospects in baseball, put at No. 88 on Baseball America’s list and highly sought after by other organization’s seeking frontline catching. Susac is important to the Giants’ plans, though, and he currently is viewed as the top choice to back up Buster Posey on a team seeking a repeat. 

Susac, 24, prefers to focus on his standing with the Giants, not within scouting circles.

“I don’t want to be a prospect,” he said, smiling. "I want to be a big leaguer."

While Susac is still technically a rookie, he could be a prominent figure on the Giants roster. Posey started behind the plate 109 times last season and has never gotten past 119 starts at catcher, leaving a golden opportunity for his backup. The Giants have had veterans — Eli Whiteside, Guillermo Quiroz, etc. — in the role before and Hector Sanchez learned on the job after making the big leagues as a 21-year-old. Susac is a different case, young enough to be a premium asset (ESPN’s Keith Law had Susac 46th on his own top 100 list) but also already polished enough to make sure the Giants don’t miss much of a beat when Posey plays first or gets a full day off. 

[REWIND: Pavlovic: Sanchez arrives in AZ healthy, dedicated to catching]

“He has the tools to be a Major League catcher,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He throws, he hits, he’s smart. Pitchers like throwing to him.”

Susac batted .273 in 88 at-bats last season after Sanchez was put on the DL with a concussion, hitting three homers and slugging .466. While it came in a small sample size, his OPS+ of 125 was by far the highest by a Giants backup catcher during the Posey era. 

“If he gets to play every day, which may not happen right away in San Francisco, he'd hit .260-270 with 20 bombs and add a few runs of value on his defense, good enough to start in 2015 for maybe half the teams in the majors,” Law wrote of Susac in his prospect rankings. 

Susac ignores the hype, and he said he’s ready for what should be a spirited camp battle to back up Posey. Sanchez came into camp significantly slimmer and is recovered from the concussion issues that derailed his 2014 season. If the catchers secretly view each other as rivals, they don’t show it in the clubhouse or on the field, often joking around with each other and exchanging tips.

“We both know we’ve got to take care of business,” Susac said. “Whatever happens, happens. You control the controllable.”

Sanchez wasn’t the only one to come into camp an improved athlete. Susac soaked in as much as he could during his 2014 big league stint and said he pushed himself harder in the weight room this offseason after watching the way Giants veterans get after it. He got engaged to longtime girlfriend Maggie Doremus a few weeks after the postseason and said she helped him improve his diet, with Susac even trying the Paleo Diet for a while. Most importantly, Susac put an emphasis on making sure he did everything possible to prevent hamstring strains after suffering a pair of pulls in Triple-A last season. 

The organization’s Triple-A club is now in Sacramento, minutes from Susac’s hometown of Roseville. While he hopes to avoid playing that close to home, Susac did spend the offseason there, occasionally hearing a “Go Susac!” during dinner or running into fans at the local Starbucks or GNC store. 

“It was wild,” Susac said. “This whole ride has been crazy. To finish it with a World Series and an engagement was a hell of a way to end 2014.”

Susac shook his head as he recounted the busiest and most successful year of his life.

“I keep telling everyone it’s all downhill from here after that rush,” he joked.

The Giants hope that was just the beginning for their top prospect.