Siena’s Dan Swain talks MLB Draft
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. » When the MLB Draft takes place from June 12-14, and there won’t be many players at any level from the Capital Region on the edge of their seat, waiting to learn their fate.
Last year, Shenendehowa’s Ian Anderson was taken in the first round by the Braves. The year before that, Niskayuna’s Garrett Whitley was taken by the Rays. This year, the most likely to get picked is probably Dan Swain, a Siena outfielder who graduated last month.
Swain hit .324 this season with a career-high nine home runs and 36 RBIs. He led the Saints with nine steals (11 attempts) and had a .964 fielding percentage.
The Record spoke with Swain ahead of draft day.
What do you think your chances are of being drafted?
A: I don’t necessarily think I’m going to be drafted. I could see it happening. I do think I’ve played well enough where I will get a shot to play or an opportunity to play professional baseball. I’m pretty lucky, I know some guys in professional baseball.
I think if I don’t get drafted, I could sign a free agent deal. I’m just expecting to get the opportunity to play professional baseball whether it be through the draft or a free agent deal — or maybe in Independent ball for a while and then going from there.
What’s that prediction based on?
A: It’s kind of that I’m keeping my expectations low because I don’t want to be disappointed I guess. I remember last year, I thought I had a shot of getting drafted, and it didn’t happen. I remember, I felt like I was going to get drafted my junior year, and it didn’t happen. It kind of gave me more perspective on the draft process. It’s a hard thing to expect. There’s so many things that go on in the draft that, expecting anything out of it is the wrong way to
go about it.
Have you talked to scouts or people in baseball about your chances?
A: I’ve had conversations with scouts. I’ve been to workouts for a couple of professional teams. Our conversations, it’s more like when I talk to scouts, they want me to do vision tests or personality tests they have, bases that they have to cover that the organization wants them to do. But at the end of the day, it’s not the scout who decides when I get drafted. They pitch their players to the general manager. It’s ultimately the general manager who decides. I haven’t had conversations with anyone who has the power to draft me.
What have you been up to since gradation?
A: I’ve done a workout for one team already. I have another one coming up. I’ve had a couple teams reach out that have met with me personally.
What were your expectations for last year’s Draft?
A: I think going through that just gave me more perspective. I think not getting drafted — I felt like I had played well enough to get drafted and then when I didn’t, I was like, ‘OK, I understand. I need to play at an even higher level to prove to everyone that I will be successful at the professional level.’ It was disappointing, but at the same time, it was great that I could go back to school for another year because I love playing with the guys at Siena. It was just more motivation to come back even better the next year.
Did you make those improvements that you wanted?
A: There were times during the season where I was playing at another level. At the beginning of the season when I had that two-home run game against Pittsburgh, I was like, ‘Wow, yeah, all the work that I put in really brought me to the next level.’
But baseball always finds a way to humble you. Going through the season, I hit a bit of a skid. I thought I did a pretty good job of building myself back up. I was happy with that. I thought showing the ability to build myself back up was important. As a team, it was kind of disappointing that we didn’t make the playoffs. That’s always the goal going into the season. Especially since I think the team had enough talent to do it, we just couldn’t put it together.
Does the fact that this is your last chance to be drafted weigh on you?
A: I guess it does weigh on me a little bit. I think the difference between this year and last year or my senior year of high school.
My senior year of high school and I didn’t play at all and I knew I wasn’t going to get drafted. Draft day, I wasn’t thinking about it at all. Junior year I was playing out in the Northwoods. I was playing a game in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I would come back and check my phone in between each inning. This year I think it’s going to be a little different because I don’t really have anything to distract me from the process. I think that’s the difference. I think I’m going to have to find a way to distract myself during the waiting process. I’ll drive myself crazy.
Plans for Draft day?
A: Well I’m definitely not going to have a Draft party or anything. I kind of joke about that with some of the other baseball players that I know — how awkward Draft parties can be if what you expect to happen doesn’t happen. I think that day I’ll pretty much do what I’ve been doing most of the days that I’ve been home.
Wake up, drive out to the cage, hit there for an hour and a half then come back home, work out there for an hour and a half. Then I’ll probably just play video games with my brother.