The Red Sox selected Blake Swihart with the 26th overall pick in last season's First-Year Player Draft. He was named the #72 prospect in baseball by the folks at BaseballAmerica, and the #100 prospect by ESPN's Keith Law. Blake is playing this season at Low-A Greenville in the South Atlantic League and was kind enough to chat with me for a few minutes.
Hudson Belinsky: For people who have never heard about you, what kind of ballplayer are you and what's your game all about?
Blake Swihart: Well I go out every night and give 110 percent, as much as I can. I'm real coachable. I go out and play to win the game. Hopefully just be the best team player I can.
HB: It's your first year in the minor leagues, your first full season. How does it feel? The transition from high school ball to the Sally League?
BS: You know, I'm loving it. Getting to wake up every morning getting to go play I get to live my dream. It's every little kids dream to play this and this is one of the my biggest dreams. I mean I'm loving it, it's the every day grind of baseball.
HB: Since you've become a pro you went through instructs, Spring Training, and now you're in the Sally League. Where do you think your game has seen the most improvement since reaching the pros?
BS: Probably over the offseason. I went in and put in a lot of work in the weight room and gained a lot of weight, got a lot more muscle mass put on. I gained a couple pounds of body fat too just 'cause I was really too skinny to really be a catcher at that point. I think in the offseason mainly catching a lot too has got me to improve my skills back there.
HB: Growing up who was your favorite big leaguer? Is there any player you modeled your game after?
BS: I've always been a fan of Mark McGwire. I was always on the Cardinals and I always loved the Cardinals and he was my idol.
HB: So growing up in New Mexico, not really a big prospect scene or anything like that. What was it like, being the best kid on the field [almost] all the time?
BS: That wasn't always the case. There's a lot of good players in New Mexico. A lot of hidden talent too so New Mexico is slowly getting on the map, but it was a lot of fun competing with those guys and the guys around me made me better.
Hudson Belinsky can be followed on Twitter at @hudsonbelinsky.
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Posted by: Jordan 1 KO | 06/03/2012 at 11:16 PM