Diamondbacks’ #1 Prospect Swanson Debuts Wednesday

Jun 24, 2014; Omaha, NE, USA; (Editor

The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s Major League Baseball draft, Dansby Swanson, is scheduled to make his Minor League Debut Wednesday with the Class A Hillsboro Hops, MLB.com reports.

Swanson, the 21-year-old short stop out of Vanderbilt, had to delay his debut after suffering a concussion three weeks ago after he was hit in the mouth by a pitch in a simulated game.

The incident apparently happened at the D-backs’ Spring Training complex at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and pretty much destroyed Swanson’s plans of joining the club’s rookie-level team, the report said.

After being sidelined for nearly a month, Swanson passed a concussion test earlier this week and flew to Hillsboro Tuesday night to get ready for the Hops’ match up against the Vancouver Canadians on Wednesday, the report said.

Swanson’s debut game is scheduled for tonight at 7:05 p.m. MT and can been seen live streaming on MiLB.TV.

Swanson was born in Kennesaw, GA and attended Marietta High School where he was a two sport star in baseball and basketball. He was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 38th round of the 2012 draft, but he chose not to sign at the time.

Three years later, he was selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the D-backs in the 2015 draft. He received a $6.5 million dollar signing bonus and became the top prospect in the D-backs organization.

Prior to signing with the D-backs, Swanson played college ball at Vanderbilt and was a member of the 2014 championship team as a sophomore.

During that championship season, Swanson was named the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series after hitting .323 with five runs scored and three doubles with four stolen bases.

Swanson had to miss most of his freshman year at Vanderbilt with a shoulder injury, according to a Fox Sports report.

Once he returned to the team, he hit .334 over his final two seasons.

During his junior year in 2015, Swanson was ranked fifth in the conference after smacking 15 home runs. It was a serious progressive step forward for the youngster who hit just three home run in 2014.

The report from Fox Sports paints Swanson as a player who lives and breaths baseball. Teammates told reporters that he “demonstrated a relentless dedication” to pretty much everything he did.

Among his achievements at Vanderbilt, Swanson reached the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year. He was also named to the 2014 second and third All-American teams.