As part of Perfect Game's recurring 'Before They Were Pros' series David Rawnsley will take a look at some of the top prospects in minor league baseball and their impact on the sport prior to their professional careers. This will be done in a six-part series, one feature for each division in Major League Baseball while identifying one of the top prospects for each team. Links are provided below to past installments of the 'Before They Were Pros' series for other reports on prospects, both past and present.


Atlanta Braves

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Lucas Sims, J.R. Graham, Jason Hursh
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Alec Grosser

Dansby Swanson, SS

Swanson's recent trade from the Diamondbacks to the Braves brought him back to his hometown of Atlanta, more specifically the city of Kennesaw, a short drive from the Braves new ballpark that will open in 2017.

He was a busy tournament participant during his high school days, playing for both the East Cobb Astros and East Cobb Yankees at age group tournaments all the way from the 2007 14u WWBA National Championship between his seventh and eighth grade years to the 2012 18u WWBA National Championship after he had graduated from Marietta High School. 

When this scout saw Swanson in high school he was a very good all-around middle infield talent, with a short line drive swing, 6.6 speed and polished defensive ability.  He lacked much present strength, however, and was what typically would be called a "college guy" by most scouts.  He was ranked 151st in the 2012 class at draft time.

Swanson was an outstanding student as well and choosing to go to Vanderbilt was an easy decision.  However, Swanson only got into 11 games as a freshman, getting three hits in 16 at-bats.  He started at second base as a sophomore, hitting .333-3-34 with 27 doubles and 22 stolen bases and scouts started to talk about his potential in the 2015 draft. He was named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2014 College World Series for the national champion Commodores.

Swanson was a different player in 2015, though.  He made a seamless transition to shortstop and showed that he had a long future at that position.  He also showed significantly more strength with the bat, hitting .335-15-64 during the spring with 24 doubles and six triples.  That combination of defensive tools at shortstop and increased pop in his bat vaulted him to the No. 1 spot in the draft in a year without an obvious No. 1 pick.  Arizona signed him for a $6.5 million bonus, over $2 million short of the assigned slot, only ten minutes before the signing deadline.


Miami Marlins

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Andrew Heaney, Jake Marisnick, Anthony DeSclafani
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Trevor Williams, Avery Romero, Justin Nicolino

Tyler Kolek, RHP

Kolek was one of the most talked about high school prospects of this generation when the Marlins picked him with the second overall pick in the 2014 and signed him for a $6 million bonus.

Part of that was his unique background.  A monster of an athlete at 6-foot-5, 250-pounds, Kolek grew up on a 10,000 acre ranch in East Texas where his father was the general manager.  Shepherd High School, where Kolek attended, is in the second smallest classification in Texas high school sports.  Kolek's appearances with the Houston Heat team during the summer were often scheduled around when he was able to get out of his normal work duties on the ranch.

Of course, the other part of the Kolek legend was the fastball that would occasionally touch triple digits and regularly sit in the upper-90s.



Kolek missed most of his junior high school season with a broken arm sustained in an early season base running collision and was not known at all on the national scouting circuit.  He did not have an invitation to the PG National Showcase until word got out of Texas in early June about a big righthander throwing in the mid-90s in early summer outings for the Heat.  He was quickly invited to Minneapolis and this is the PG report filed after his debut on the national stage:

Extra large, extra strong build, physical presence on the mound.  Long cross body stride, long arm action with plus leverage and whip coming through, high 3/4's arm slot, arm works very well, shows athleticism in his delivery, could get directional better. Mid-90s fastball, topped out at 97 mph, gained velocity throughout his outing and was hitting top numbers at the end of two innings, mostly straight with occasional arm side run.  Big breaking wipeout slider, very hard biting action at times, deep 12/6 downer curveball with different shape, tends to lengthen arm and extension on curveball at present.  Elite level velocity and the potential for a plus/plus slider with refinement.  Everything you'd want to see in a young power pitcher.

The Houston Astros held the first pick in the 2014 draft and there was obvious intrigue about whether they would pick Kolek, who lived only an hour north of Houston.  In addition, no high school righthander had ever been picked first overall in the draft.   A huge entourage of Astros executives, including Nolan Ryan, famously watched Kolek pitch in the playoffs a month before the draft.  Ultimately, Houston decided to go another direction, selecting, and eventually not signing, San Diego area high school lefty Brady Aiken.


New York Mets

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Kevin Plawecki, Brandon Nimmo
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Steven Matz, Dominic Smith

Gavin Cecchini, SS

Cecchini comes from one of the strongest baseball families in the country and that has always been evident in his instincts and passion for the game.  His father, Glenn, is the long-time coach at one of the top programs in the country, Barbe High School, and was the 2015 USA 18u National Team coach.  His mother, Raissa, also has coached at Barbe and is renowned as perhaps the best female batting practice pitcher in the country.  And, of course, Gavin's brother, Garin, is a third baseman who has played in the big leagues with the Red Sox and is now with the Brewers.

Gavin Cecchini

Zach Eflin