‘He’s incredible.’ Logan Tanner shows ‘rare’ skills as a Mississippi State freshman.
Among positions the hardest to take on as a freshman starter in the nation’s best conference, the SEC, catcher has to near the top of the list.
With 13 appearances and 10 starts through the first 15 games of the season, former George County star Logan Tanner has proven up to the task for Mississippi State baseball.
Tanner started against the No. 2 team in the nation, Texas Tech, on Tuesday night at MGM Park — just an hour’s drive from his hometown of Lucedale. In the batter’s box and behind the plate, Tanner played a key role as the No. 13 Bulldogs picked up an important non-conference win, 6-3, over the Red Raiders (16-2).
With plenty of family members making the trek from George County to be part of the crowd of 5,752, no MSU player had a bigger cheering section than Tanner.
“I had a lot of family here. It was fun,” he said. “The crowd was electric. It was like a mini ‘Dude.’ It was really fun playing on the Coast.”
Tanner was 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and answered all the challenges at catcher, digging up several pitches in the dirt to keep the Bulldogs (11-4) in the lead.
MSU coach Chris Lemonis is getting what he’d hoped for out of Tanner.
“He’s been really good,” Lemonis said. “What people don’t see is how he receives. He’s a really good receiver. For a freshman to do that is rare and then he can really throw, too. We’re pleased with him right now.”
Logan Tanner settles in at catcher for MSU
Tanner is listed as a catcher/right-handed pitcher on the roster. Despite featuring a fastball that easily hit 95 mph at George County, he has yet to take the mound this season.
It became apparent to Lemonis in the fall that Tanner’s best shot to make an impact in 2020 was to put him behind the plate.
“They told me they wanted me to move full time to catcher in the spring,” Tanner said. “I was pretty happy about it because I’d get to work with the pitching staff full time. I get to work with the guys and get to know what they throw. It was a really good transition.”
On Tuesday, Tanner worked well with junior lefty Houston Harding, who turned in a solid 5 1/3 innings in the start. He struck out four, walked none and allowed two runs, none earned, on two hits.
David Dunlavey, Landon Sims and Spencer Price followed Harding in relief, limiting the Red Raiders — a team that is hitting .338 — to one earned run on three hits.
Harding gave a tip of the cap to Tanner for his ability to frame pitches for strikes.
“He’s incredible,” Harding said. “We talk back and forth all the time about tips and tricks to steal me some pitches. He’s really good. He’s plus-plus about everything. It’s a dream working with him.”
Keeping the Bulldogs in the lead
Tanner played a role in preserving the MSU lead in the sixth inning when Dunlavey replaced Harding and walked the two men he faced, sending several balls into the dirt that Tanner had to block up. One wild breaking ball made its way well into the opposing batter’s box, but Tanner showed of his athleticism with a diving, clean block of the ball.
Tanner has always been more athletic than the average catcher, but he’s showing better technique in keeping pitches in front of him.
“My blocking has been a lot better. It’s gotten better as the year has gone on,” he said. “I’ve been working on it pretty good. There are a lot harder sliders up here than in high school. That’s been the biggest transition.”
At George County, Tanner was solid at the plate, but he wasn’t considered among the better high school bats in South Mississippi. He hit .367 with three homers and 30 RBIs as a senior and left the Lucedale school with a career batting average of .322.
Tanner is trying to fill the shoes of former MSU catcher Dustin Skelton, who was taken in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins. The Senatobia native had a breakout season last year with a .316 average, 10 homers and 55 RBIs, but Tanner has already shown more life at the plate than Skelton did in his first two seasons at MSU — .206 as a freshman and .238 as a sophomore.
After hitting a homer to help cap off a sweep of Quinnipiac on Sunday and knocking in a run against Texas Tech, he now has a .256 batting average.
“It’s just being on time,” Tanner said. “It’s being ready to hit good fastballs and being able to see breaking balls out of the hand.
“With every at-bat, it feels I’m getting more and more comfortable up there.”
Mississippi State was set to close out the two-game midweek series with Texas Tech at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 11:07 PM.
