Matthew Lee Swarmer (born September 25, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Amateur career

Swarmer attended

Governor Mifflin Senior High School Governor Mifflin Senior High School is the only high school in the Governor Mifflin School District. Named for the Revolutionary War major and first governor of Pennsylvania, Thomas Mifflin, it is located in Shillington, Berks County, Pennsylv ...

and played four years of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Kutztown University or KU) is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher ...

. After his senior year at Kutztown, he was selected by the

in the 19th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Swarmer made his professional debut in 2016 with the

Arizona League Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...

and worked his way through the minor league system with the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays their ...

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team was or ...

, and

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

before reaching the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

for the first time in 2017. In 2018, Swarmer split the season between Myrtle Beach and Tennessee, and was named the Cubs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year after starting 24 games and going 9–8 with a 3.22 ERA over innings. In 2019, Swarmer made 27 appearances (25 starts) for Iowa, posting a 10-11 record and 5.65 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 151.1 innings pitched. Swarmer did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He pitched in 24 games (starting 20) for Triple-A Iowa in 2021, logging a 3-8 record and 4.79 ERA with 120 strikeouts in 112.2 innings of work. Swarmer returned to Iowa to open the 2022 season. On May 30, 2022, the Cubs selected Swarmer's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut that day as the starting pitcher in game one of a doubleheader versus the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. He threw six innings and gave up four runs (only one earned) while striking out six batters in a 7-6 loss. On June 5, Swarmer earned his first career win, tossing six innings of one-run ball against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. He also became the first Cubs rookie since

Gene Lillard Robert Eugene Lillard (November 12, 1913 – April 12, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), he began his baseball career as an infielder and was a prodigious minor league batsman ...

in 1939 to throw six-plus innings and allow one or fewer runs in each of his first two big-league games. On June 11, 2022, Swarmer tied a major-league record by allowing six solo home runs in a single game during an 8-0 loss to The Yankees. Swarmer also became the first Cubs pitcher to allow six homers in a game since Tom Lee in 1884. Swarmer had previously set another franchise record in 2019 with the Iowa Cubs, allowing 36 home runs in his 27 outings. He was designated for assignment by the Cubs on July 16. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Iowa on July 21. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Atlanta Braves

On February 25, 2023, Swarmer signed a minor league contract with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

organization. In 19 games for the Triple–A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, he struggled to an 8.07 ERA with 30 strikeouts in innings pitched. On July 27, Swarmer was released by Atlanta.

Lancaster Barnstormers

On August 10, 2023, Swarmer signed with the

of the

. In 7 starts for Lancaster, he posted a 4–1 record and 3.69 ERA with 52 strikeouts across 39.0 innings of work. With Lancaster, Swarmer won the Atlantic League championship.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swarmer, Matt 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Pennsylvania Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Cubs players Kutztown Golden Bears baseball players Arizona League Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players South Bend Cubs players Tennessee Smokies players Iowa Cubs players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Gwinnett Stripers players