The South Alabama Jaguars have had success at producing major league talent, from Luis Gonzalez to Juan Pierre to Adam Lind. In Travis Swaggerty, however, South Alabama will produce their highest draftee yet.
Travis Swaggerty 2018 MLB Draft Profile
Travis Swaggerty is a left-handed outfielder from the University of South Alabama. The 20-year old stands at 5’11” and 180 pounds. He’s mostly played center field in college, but projects as a corner outfielder in the major leagues.
Swaggerty is a native of Denham Springs, Louisiana. He was an All-State outfielder and pitcher for Denham Springs High School in 2015. Undrafted out of high school, he signed with South Alabama and produced immediately.
As a freshman, he hit .303/.431/.422 with 20 steals, 42 walks, and 49 strikeouts in 218 at-bats. His sophomore season is where he started getting notice from scouts. He produced well for the Jaguars, hitting .361/.487/.567 with 10 home runs, 19 steals, 47 walks, and 43 strikeouts in 208 at-bats. The attention came after Swaggerty starred for the USA Collegiate Team, where scouts reveled in his speed and defense.
In 2018, Swaggerty is slashing .296/.450/.537 with 13 home runs, nine steals and 50 walks against 36 strikeouts. Swaggerty is leading the offensive charge for the Jaguars, who are battling to win the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Strengths
There’s much to like about Swaggerty’s game from many different aspects.
At the plate, he’s a quintessential lead-off hitter. His elite approach comes from an impressive knowledge of the strike zone that allows him to draw walks at an advanced rate. In three seasons at South Alabama, Swaggerty has produced nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts. As a bonus, each season his power has progressed, flashing elite raw power to right field. This is causing him to draw early comparisons to young Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
The other advanced level of his game is his elite speed, both on the bases and in the outfield. Swaggerty is an elite runner on the base paths, stealing bases with ease. In the field, his speed, combined with an electric arm that can touch 92 MPH, allows him to patrol center field with ease. If Swaggerty were to switch to a corner outfield spot—which major league teams will push him to do—he will be an elite defensive outfielder.
In all, Swaggerty’s biggest strength is that he is a well-rounded player with multiple elite tools and will be drafted among the top-ten picks, possibly top-five.
Weaknesses
Swaggerty’s weakness is mostly mechanical, as his swing can become off-balanced at times. Scouts believe this has to do with his new increase in power, which is causing him to take longer strides in his swing. This has never been an issue for him in college, but once he starts facing stronger pitching, it could result in more strikeouts, cutting into one of his strengths.
This also directs attention about his approach at the plate. Swaggerty has always been the definition of disciplined at the plate, due to his high walk totals. Yet, his new found power is causing concerns from scouts that he will try to become more of a power hitter once he gets older.
It bodes well for Swaggerty to shorten his stride at the plate, allowing him to produce better contact. This may affect his overall upside, becoming more of a gap hitter than having over-the-fence power.
With that said, Swaggerty projects as a lead-off hitter, so his ability to consistently make contact with gap power—combined with his speed—will help him further along than this new power surge.
MLB Player Comparison
The most common player comparison for Swaggerty is New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner. Gardner had more speed and less power at Swaggerty’s age. However, his speed and outfield prowess models Gardner’s career.
Expect Swaggerty to be among the top college bats—and one the top position players overall—taken in this year’s draft.
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