In eighth grade, Thatcher Hurd wanted to be like University of Arizona catcher César Salazar.
And for three years at Acalanes High School, outside of San Francisco, Hurd worked at becoming that catcher, finally getting his shot to show his dream school what he was capable of at an Arizona camp one summer when he went with his friend, now Arizona catcher Tommy Splaine
“I had a bad camp session,” Hurd said. “I couldn’t hit and I got beat out.”
That’s not how then-Arizona coach Jay Johnson saw it.
“They both wanted to be two-way players, but they both really wanted to catch, but as soon as I saw Thatcher throw a slider, I was like, ‘This guy’s gonna be a pitcher and he’s gonna be a good one,’ ” Johnson, now LSU’s coach, said. “So we tried to get him, but the other player (Splaine) committed to us like right after the camp.
“What we didn’t know was that they didn’t want to go to the same school because they were such good friends, and it’s funny, one of them is a great pitcher and one of them’s a catcher — and I would’ve been able to tell both of them that at the time.”
It took Hurd longer than everyone else around him to realize his future was in pitching. Now his late-season success at LSU has shown he can be the ultimate swingman on the staff — a guy who can start or work in relief for five or more innings.
Johnson has said since the beginning of the season that will be key on the road to Omaha as the Tigers begin their postseason run at 2 p.m. Friday in the NCAA Baton Rouge regional at Alex Box Stadium against Tulane.
“He has big-league stuff,” LSU catcher Hayden Travinski said. “The first time I caught him, I was genuinely shocked because he throws a slider that moves 2 feet.”
Hurd’s mother, Julie Hurd, said the day she realized her son’s future was in pitching was his last game at Acalanes, when Hurd caught his brother, left-hander Logan Hurd, for six innings. Then he took off the catching gear to record a save on the mound.
“It’s sort of like parent nirvana: We were spoiled getting to watch our boys from the day they stepped on the little league field,” Julie said. “This was an important game, and he just took off his gear and threw as hard as he could.”
That moment is one of Logan’s special memories.
“Growing up, he was a catcher and I was the first pitcher of the family, and I threw to him all through high school,” Logan said. “He knew the basics, but once he started throwing, he took the reins.”
On the same night, the state of California shut down sports because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision ended their season early.
That didn’t stop Thatcher from experimenting with pitching, studying grips online through YouTube videos. He and his brother also got the keys to a pitching facility nearby. For most of the lockdown, he learned how to pitch from the guy he grew up catching — his brother.
“We were lifting heavy for the first time and had all the technology, like the TrackMan,” Logan said. “I think that’s where his love for the metrics came, and that really separated him after COVID.”
Hurd’s family moved south to Manhattan Beach for Thatcher’s senior year, where he pitched for Mira Costa High School.
He still wanted to catch, but Mira Costa coach Keith Ramsey knew Hurd was a pitcher.
“He’s got a terrific pitcher’s frame,” Ramsey said. “He’s every bit of 6-4, he’s physical, he’s long. The way his body moved looked to me like a pitcher, and I pitched professionally. I thought he had great ability to spin a ball, meaning breaking balls and fastballs. The arm stroke and power was so obvious, every time he took the mound, it was like, ‘We’ve got to pursue this.’ ”
Hurd went to UCLA because of its history with pitchers such as Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer. And because he had only one full season as a high school pitcher, Hurd put in the extra work. There were nights Ramsey got texts that Hurd was seen running poles under the moonlight, or doing Romanian deadlifts after a start.
His competitive spirit is what stands out on the mound, and it’s what led him to LSU. He wanted to compete in the best conference in college baseball.
But when SEC play started, hitters found ways to hammer him.
“At times in the Pac-12, when I changed speeds, I could get guys out,” Hurd said. “Here, you have to really execute a pitching plan to get guys out.”
In the past 10⅓ innings he’s pitched against Georgia and South Carolina, Hurd gave up only seven hits while striking out nine and walking three. He allowed five earned runs.
That stretch is an improvement on his overall numbers this season. Hurd is 5-2 with a 6.41 ERA in 19 appearances, including 10 starts. In 46⅓ innings, he’s allowed 46 hits and walked 31 while striking out 59.
Hurd is still new to pitching, though, and his old high school coach thinks the best is yet to come.
“I think he’s done a really good job this year, but next year, watch out,” Ramsey said.
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