February 9, 2009

Top 50 Twins Prospects 2009: #9 Anthony Swarzak

2009 Top 50 Twins Prospects | #9 | Anthony Swarzak

Position | Pitcher

Bats/Throws | Right/Right

Born
| September 10, 1985 (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

School
| Nova High School

Height
| 6'3''

Weight
| 230 lbs.

2008 Ranking
| 3




Breakdown
Anthony Swarzak was drafted in the second round of the 2004 draft. He has had a rough last couple of years in the Twins system, but hopefully he's finally on the right track. After serving a 50 game suspension in 2007 for a "drug of abuse" (likely Marijuana), Swarzak lit up his competition and went 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA after his return. Unfortunately for him, Rochester had a surplus of capable arms heading into the season last year which meant that Swarzak would be sent back to New Britain. Piece of cake right? Unfortunately the 2008 season didn't go as well as anyone had hoped for the 22-year-old right-hander. Swarzak ended up going 3-8 with a 5.76 ERA in 20 starts in New Britain. Despite his horrendous numbers, the Twins still decided to promote him to Rochester in late July and he impressed everyone in the organization by going 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA the rest of the way. Swarzak has a great fastball which can hit around 96-97 MPH and a hammer curveball. Many think his pitching repertoire should fair well in the majors. He has control problems, but I think that'll get better with age. Remember, despite repeating Double-A, he's still only 22-years-old and is and has been much younger than the rest of his competition.

2008 Statistics
Level      W      L      ERA      IP      K      BB      WHIP     LOB%
AA         3      8     5.76   101.2     76      37      1.60    63.7%
AAA 5 0 1.80 45.0 26 14 1.22 84.3%

2009 Outlook

Swarzak will likely make it to Minnesota at some point in 2009, but he should be begin the year starting near the top of the Red Wings rotation. Some think he could land a bullpen spot, but that's highly unlikely.

Pitching Repertoire
  • Fastball
  • Curveball
  • Change-up
Video


Estimated Time of Arrival
2009

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