SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- It would be hard for a college baseball player to have a better day than the one Vanderbilt's Dansby Swanson had on Monday.The junior shortstop homered and doubled off one of the nation's top pitchers in Tyler Jay to help lead the Commodores past Illinois in the Super Regionals and back into the College World Series. Then following the game he was selected No. 1 overall by the D-backs in the MLB Draft.
"It was a perfect stage for him," D-backs scouting director Deric Ladnier said. "Everybody got a chance, and for this town and this organization to be able to witness what we just selected live basically is pretty special."
Swanson is regarded as the top college position player in this Draft class after a strong junior year for the defending national champion Commodores.Ladnier and senior vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson had pretty much agreed on the selection of Swanson a month ago, but out of respect for the process, they allowed everyone to have their say in the team's Draft room over the past 10 days."As we whittled it down, we basically had the same type of support that he and I had as we decided that this is our pick," Ladnier said. "And now everybody else supporting it [makes it] a perfect pick for the organization."Swanson -- who played second base in 2014, when Vandy won the College World Series -- made a seamless transition to shortstop this season, and scouts believe he has the quickness and arm strength to remain at shortstop. Swanson is the first college shortstop to be taken first overall since the Padres drafted Brown's Bill Almon at No. 1 in 1974."Major League shortstops are very difficult to find," Ladnier said. "The other part of it are the intangibles that this player brings to the field every day. He's got the character; he's got the makeup; he's a winner, all things that you want to build an organization with. ... We just thought it was a perfect fit for this organization, where we are, where we're headed, and we fully expect him to continue his journey and be a Diamondback soon."Complete Draft orderThe D-backs spoke with Swanson on Monday morning, but did not tell him they had decided on him for the top pick. They will not begin official contract negotiations until after Vanderbilt has finished its season. The recommended slot value for the first-overall pick is $8,616,900.In the ninth inning of a May 30 NCAA Tournament game against Indiana, Swanson showed his athleticism and all-around ability. While he is not considered a power hitter, Swanson hit a two-run homer in the top of the frame to give the Commodores a 6-4 lead. Then, in the bottom of the frame, he made a backhanded play on the grass behind short and made a jump throw to first to nail the batter.In his first 64 games this year, Swanson is hitting .348 with 22 doubles, six triples, 14 homers and 61 RBIs.Swanson has developed a reputation for playing the best at the most crucial times, as his exploits in the game against Indiana showed, as well as the fact that he won Most Outstanding Player honors at last year's College World Series.Swanson becomes the second No. 1 overall pick in D-backs history, joining Justin Upton, who was selected as a high school shortstop in 2005.It is believed that the D-backs also gave serious consideration to Vandy right-hander Carson Fulmer, UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Dillon Tate, Jay and high school catcher Tyler Stephenson, among others.The D-backs will also make the 43rd overall selection on Monday night at approximately 7:27 pm. MST.MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 200 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of over 1,700 Draft-eligible players. Every selection will be tweeted live from @MLBDraftTracker, and you can also keep up to date by following @MLBDraft. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.
Steve Gilbert/ MLB.com
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
