Trey Sweeney went undrafted out of high school and came into the MLB Draft as the No. 55 overall prospect according to MLB.com, but the Yankees love the potential they are acquiring in the 20th overall pick.
“We were able to see him play quite a bit,” Yankees Vice President and Director of Amateur Scouting Damon Oppenheimer told reporters on Wednesday. “We had fall looks at him, we were able to see him over the summer, we were able to get out during COVID in the amateur world. So we were able to get the collegiate league, a bunch of stuff in the fall and numerous looks at him in the spring. We finished it up with a workout before the draft started to solidify a couple of things for us that we just wanted to see and meet with him again. Combine that with physical testing we were able to do, the analytical side of studying we were able to do, and the fact that he’s a 6-foot-3 lefty hitting shortstop with power that does things easy with tools made it a pretty simple pick for us.”
Sweeney, a 21-year-old shortstop, just finished his redshirt sophomore season at Eastern Illinois University, the only school that offered him a scholarship out of high school. He immediately rewarded EIU by grabbing first team All-American honors this past season, hitting .382 with 14 home runs. As a freshman, he slashed .354/.453/.527 with seven homers while walking 36 times compared to just 25 strikeouts. He hit .351 last year before the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Sweeney boasts an incredible eye at the plate, walking 46 times this season compared to 24 strikeouts, but the Yankees also like what they see in the field, and plan on grooming Sweeney to remain a shortstop, even if there are questions about his defensive ability to remain at the position.
“We really see him as being able to play shortstop,” Oppenheimer said. “I’m not sure why that would be written about him. He’s smooth, he’s got hood hands, he runs well enough, his range is good and he’s got a plus arm. Realistically, he has all the tools and intangibles to be a shortstop. He has a clock to play shortstop, so defensively, we don’t see any issues why he would stay there. He’s also versatile enough to play other positions, but the shortstop side of it should not be a problem.”
While Sweeney can play other positions, the Yankees plan on keeping him at shortstop as he begins his professional career.
“I think he’s a shortstop,” Oppenheimer said. “I mentioned it because I think it’s a thing guys do nowadays, but we drafted him thinking he’s a shortstop and he has the tools to stay at shortstop.”
With Sweeney staying at shortstop, the Yankees have several young promising prospects at the middle infield positions, including Anthony Volpe, taken in the first round in 2019 and recently promoted to High-A. But Sweeney was the best player available in the Yankees’ eyes, and fear of crowding was not on the team’s mind when they took Sweeney.
“Especially early in the draft, it was completely about taking the best available player,” Oppenheimer said. “We’re gonna have logjams. Anthony Volpe is gonna be a logjam at shortstop for a lot of people. That’s a situation, you just can’t stop in the amateur world, not taking the best or not taking somebody because you’re short on a position or if you have too many…Sweeney was the best guy we thought at the time. Even though we have a Volpe coming, you still make that pick.”
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