Pounding the table for Dansby Swanson

You know the old saying, "once you go Commodore, you always end up drafting more." Or maybe that's just a saying that I just say... or perhaps I just made it up. The Astros drafted a pair of Vanderbilt Commodores early in the 2013 draft in Tony Kemp and Conrad Gregor. Both of these guys are very solid baseball players, albeit with some small holes in their game. If another Commodore is available when the Astros select tonight, they need to draft him. Dansby Swanson is a fellow Commodore, but he is the complete package at short stop.

Swanson has put up some very good numbers for a short stop this year in the SEC. I pulled up the statistics for the SEC and filtered it to only show players who have at least 150 ABs. Swanson has a 1.081 OPS (1st) and a .648 slugging (2nd).  His 15.8% BB rate is also a nice plus when compared to his only slightly higher 17.0% K rate. He also slugged 14 homeruns this season.

If there's anything to nitpick on Swanson it's the K rate. He may struggle a little with contact, but other than that, all of the tools are there. He's a plus runner who will probably be able to steal some bases. His defense projects to stick at short stop and will at least be average there. He has 15 homerun pop and a great feel for hitting. He's a college bat which is pretty much the exact opposite of a high school pitcher when it comes to risk associated with the pick (ahem 2014 draft).

The x factor here is Swanson's makeup. We have seen that the Astros front office values makeup highly. Swanson is known as an intelligent, heady ball player and also draws praise for his work ethic and high energy level.

Most experts believe this guys is at the top of the majority of MLB teams draft boards. He's there for a reason. If he's there at 1.2, take him. Correa will need someone to join him on the left side of the infield in a couple of years.