2.75 St. Louis Cardinals - Jordan Swagerty, RHP, Arizona State

The Cardinals spent the 75th overall pick on Jordan Swagerty.

Follow the jump for his pre-draft profile.

Jordan Swagerty   Position: RHP   School: Arizona State   State: AZ   Year: So.   Height: 6’1’’   Weight: 175

Birth Date: 7/14/89   Seiler Rating: 1B1   Last Drafted: 2008 (COL-44)

Jordan Swagerty is a powerful right-handed relief pitcher from Arizona State University. Swagerty originally came to ASU from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, and a school I used to live across the street from. Swagerty was teammates with current University of Texas catcher Cameron Rupp while in high school, though Rupp was a year ahead of him. Swagerty was the better prospect in high school, and he could have easily gone in the top three rounds as either a pitcher or catcher in the 2008 draft had it not been for his commitment to the Sun Devils. Age-eligible after just two years in college baseball, he’s played his way off of catcher to the mound as a closer this spring, and has one of the more powerful closer arms available from the college ranks this year. Though his fastball is a little short for the position, there is reason to believe that he profiles as a legitimate closer at the Major League level, as his second pitch is one of the best in the class. To start, though, his fastball is an above-average to plus pitch, sitting 92-94, touching 96, and he commands it well for someone that hasn’t pitched full-time in his career, as he’s still putting in part-time work as a hitter this spring. The pitch that sets him apart, though, is a plus-plus curveball that gets oohs and aahs from the crowd when he bends the knees of hitters. He has no need for a third pitch, as he has the capability of being a shutdown reliever without it. Scouts don’t universally praise his two-pitch mix, and I’m taking a bit of a leap projecting him as a future closer, but the curveball is just so good that it’s possible. He should go somewhere from the supplemental first round to the beginning of the third round, where he’ll be signable despite his sophomore-eligible draft status.