STARKVILLE — Joey Swinarski completed his mission last week when the NCAA Eligibility Center cleared him to play college baseball this spring.
The mission, which the Mississippi State recruit said was all about “development as a player and a person,” included graduating a year early from high school to be eligible for the 2014 college baseball season.
“I felt like I’d reached my potential at a certain level in high school and needed to get to a college program as soon as possible to elevate my abilities as a player,” Swinarski said in a phone interview Wednesday evening. “It was an idea my family and I came up with last year, and then we kept in contact with the MSU staff about it.”
Swinarski, a second-team All-American and the No. 232nd national recruit according to Perfect Game scouting services, is considered a player who will provide MSU depth in the outfield and added offensive production.
“We absolutely know Joey’s ceiling, and it’s high,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “He’s an immediate-impact guy with all the tools to be a successful middle-of-the-order hitter in the Southeastern Conference one day.”
Swinarski’s decision isn’t unprecedented. Former UCLA right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer, who went on to be a first-round pick by the Cleveland Indians in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft after three years of college baseball, enrolled early at UCLA. Swinarski’s decision makes him ineligible for the 2014 MLB draft. Several scouts informed The Dispatch on Wednesday that Swinarski could’ve been a first-round selection after a solid senior year in high school and All-Star game appearances. By graduating early and enrolling at MSU, Swinarski can’t be selected by a professional franchise until after his junior year of college.
“I have a lot of friends who were drafted and signed out of high school, and they told me the level of play is so much higher from high school to even professional minor leagues that it can be intimidating,” Swinarski said. “My family and I thought it would be better I develop my skills as a baseball player and socially here at Mississippi State while getting a quality education. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
Swinarski had a 3.75 grade-point average in three years at The First Academy in Orlando, Fla. He finished his high school requirements in the past few months by taking several summer school and online courses.
Swinarski is expected to compete for playing time at a corner outfield spot after Hunter Renfroe declared for the MLB draft after his junior season and was selected in the first round by the San Diego Padres. Seniors Demarcus Henderson, Derrick Armstrong, and sophomore Jacob Robson also will compete for playing time to the left and right of center fielder CT Bradford.
“Whether or not I’m making a significant impact in the every-day lineup this season or next season isn’t really the point,” Swinarski said. “I can improve as a baseball player by going through the development of what a college freshman player would go through this season. Part of that is learning patience on and off the field.”
The 6-foot-3, 189-pounder turned 18 years old in June. He hit .325 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs last season as a junior at First Academy. Perfect Game selected him as one of the most dangerous power hitters in the state of Florida. Swinarski hit .380 with six doubles, three home runs, 16 runs and 15 RBI for Orangewood Christian High School as a sophomore. He batted .407 with seven home runs, 26 runs, and 28 RBIs for a state runner-up team as a ninth-grader.
“He’s got one of the best and most disciplined swings I’ve ever seen in a kid his age,” Cohen said. “The decision he and his parents made to get him here sooner only will help his development. The reason I say that is our strength and conditioning program that he’s already entered is something that really attracted him to us in the first place. He wouldn’t get that kind of program at the high school level.”
Swinarski had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after his sophomore season of high school. He committed to MSU while on a unofficial visit to the campus in 2012. He also was recruited by several top programs in the Southeast, and attended college baseball camps at Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Central Florida, Miami,and Mississippi State.
“It a program that is on the way up and I loved the coaching staff and facilities here so much,” Swinarski said. “I think I sat in coach Cohen’s for an hour during that visit and talked baseball. We agreed on so much about how the game should be played and what was important for a player.”
MSU will begin team workouts Oct. 4, but coaches have been permitted to have individual workouts with players since classes began last month.
“It’s been different to have a new routine as compared to when I was home as a high school student, but the coaching staff and people here at Mississippi State have been so nice and great to me I know I made the right decision,” Swinarski said.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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