Pirates' Swaggerty enjoys night of firsts
Coming from a smaller school, Travis Swaggerty had to do more to stand out before the Draft. His performance on Saturday for Class A Short Season West Virginia showed how bright a diamond in the rough can shine.The Pirates' first-rounder hit his first professional homer and sparked a late rally
Coming from a smaller school, Travis Swaggerty had to do more to stand out before the Draft. His performance on Saturday for Class A Short Season West Virginia showed how bright a diamond in the rough can shine.
The Pirates' first-rounder hit his first professional homer and sparked a late rally with his first triple as the Black Bears rallied for a 7-6 victory over Auburn at Monongalia County Ballpark. He drove in two runs and scored twice while boosting his average to .300 through 40 Minor League at-bats.
"In the moment, it was definitely really special for me," Swaggerty said. "I'm not up there trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark, that's not my game. ... I'm a leadoff-type guy, just trying to be gap-to-gap and hit line drives. And if I run into one, I run into one."
Ahead in the count in his first at-bat against Auburn starter Carson Teel on Saturday, the lefty-swinging Swaggerty rolled over a 2-1 pitch on his hands to second. Following Robbie Glendinning's leadoff walk in the third, Teel again tried to go inside on a 2-0 count, but the Covington, Louisiana, native was able to turn on it and lift the ball over the fence in right.
Gameday box score
"My approach there was to kind of pull in, because he wasn't going to stick me away with a two-seamer," Swaggerty said. "Hitter's count, I was looking to do damage and he threw it right where I was looking for it."
The No. 10 overall pick was hit by a pitch in the fourth and struck out in the sixth but got another opportunity to begin the eighth against reliever Jhonatan German. With West Virginia trailing, 6-4, he hit a blooper in front of center fielder Jacob Rhinesmith, whose unsuccessful attempt at a sliding catch resulted in a leadoff triple for the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder.
"My goal was just to get on base there, and I got a little lucky, I guess," Swaggerty said. "It was definitely cool to fire up the motor a little bit. ... Ultimately, it got in [German's] head and he crumbled."
German walked the next two hitters and struck out the two after that but not without uncorking a wild pitch that allowed Swaggerty to cross the plate. Another walk and another wild pitch tied the game before the Black Bears took the lead on Connor Kaiser's two-out bunt attempt that was both mishandled and thrown away by German, who was charged with two errors.
Swaggerty became the first University of South Alabama product to be selected in the first round after batting .296/.455/.526 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs in his junior season. The 20-year-old also displayed a better understanding of the zone throughout his collegiate career, lowering his strikeout rate from 18.22 percent as a freshman to 13.72 in his final year.
Although it's been a very brief sample, he hadn't struggled to maintain the trend as a professional until Friday night against Williamsport as he struck out in each of his four plate appearances -- something he never did in 171 NCAA contests.
"For me to come out and respond today was huge for my confidence moving forward," he said.
Many college hitters find the transition to wood bats in the professional ranks to be a difficult challenge. Swaggerty said he's always felt more comfortable with wood, even breaking out the lumber in batting practice and offseason hitting drills. He gained notable experience with wood bats last summer with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, where he batted .328 in 64 at-bats but did not homer.
"I still drove some balls pretty well for Team USA," Swaggerty said. "I just think it was the transition from metal to wood. When I came out here with the Black Bears, my first BP, I couldn't hit the ball in the air. My swing felt the same, but the weight of the bat is a little bit different -- you have to feel the barrel a little bit better.
"It's something I feel accustomed to now."
Swaggerty, who signed for $4.4 million on June 15, said he appreciates the changes in lifestyle that come with being a pro ballplayer.
"We're not that many games in, but I enjoy not needing to worry about school or homework or anything like that," he said. "My whole day is essentially baseball, and I'm totally OK with that. That's what I'm getting paid to do. This is the career I chose, so I'm really enjoying the process."
Daniel Amaral walked and stole his New York-Penn League-leading 12th base of the season for West Virginia.
Gerard Gilberto is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @GerardGilberto4.
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