Will Swanner, Casper’s Ghost With the Most … Power

Hitting 3 home runs in a game at any level is an impressive feat and a notable achievement. In the last season and a half at the major league level it’s been done 20 times – most recently on June 22nd by OF Chris Heisey of the Cincinnati Reds.

In the minor leagues, it seems* to happen less frequently considering the greater number of games played, but last night 3 home runs were hit by one player in the Pioneer League. They came off the bat of Casper Ghosts C William Swanner who went 4-7 with 4 runs, 5 RBI and of course those 3 long balls.

*This is sheer conjecture on my part since I am unaware of a minor league counterpart to Baseball-Reference’s wonderful Major League Play Index, that would allow me to verify my assumption.

It was a game to remember for the players and any fans that were on hand at Mike Lansing Field to witness it. Not only did Swanner hit 3 home runs in the game, his last one came in the bottom of the 15th inning and resulted in a 13-12 victory over the Orem Owlz. In terms of noteworthy events, it is one he’ll be able to tell his grandkids about someday. After all, who doesn’t love an extra-inning walk-off home run?

Before we worry about what Swanner tells his descendants decades from now, let’s focus on the present. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 15th round of the 2010 draft out of La Costa Canyon HS (Carlsbad, CA). He agreed to terms on August 10th – shortly before the deadline – and received a signing bonus of $490,000. Swanner then made his professional debut with Casper and hit 0.303/.321/.632 with 4 2B and 7 HR in 18 games. It wasn’t an entirely rosy first season however as he drew ZERO walks and struck out 33 times in 78 plate appearances.

The power alone was enough for people to take notice and take notice they did. In the 2011 Prospect Handbook, Baseball America ranked Swanner as the 16th best prospect in the Rockies system noting his raw power, bat speed and ability to hit the ball to all fields. They also noted that his selectivity will need to improve.

So far this season, he’s shown his power in flashes, but on the whole he’s struggled hitting 0.208/.255/.646 in 11 games. He has 7 HR to his credit – thanks in large part to a 2 HR game on June 24th and last night’s 3 HR performance – but he hasn’t managed to tally any other extra-base hits on the season. When it comes to his plate discipline he does have 3 BB to go with 19 SO so he’s clearly starting to develop his pitch selection skills. In fact if I were to venture a guess, his low BA and OBP probably have a lot to do with the Casper coaching staff pushing selectivity on him as a part of his development. Rookie ball is more about teaching and instruction than putting up stats after all.

I’m not sure what to make of Swanner as a prospect just yet, though you could say that about most guys in the rookie leagues. On the positive side of things, he’s hit 14 HR in 29 professional games as a teenager and has healthy R (25) and RBI (26) totals as well. Further while he was selected in the 15th round, he was viewed as a 3rd or 4th round talent heading into the 2010 draft, so there is definitely a great deal of talent and tools there for him to develop. On the negative side of things it’s hard to imagine a 52/3 SO to BB rate in 129 plate appearances will net even mediocre results against more advanced competition.

Plate discipline and selectivity don’t develop easily, but it’s not impossible for him to make significant strides in this regard in the coming years. He plays C and has pop in his bat so he’s going to get plenty of chances along the way and the rest of his tools mean he is capable of breaking out with a monster season at any time.

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