Travis Wade Swaggerty Jr. (born August 19, 1997) 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

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).

Amateur career

Swaggerty attended

Denham Springs High School Denham Springs High School is a State school, public high school located in Denham Springs, Louisiana, Denham Springs, Louisiana, United States. Denham Springs High School is a part of the Livingston Parish Public Schools, Livingston Parish School ...

Denham Springs, Louisiana Denham Springs is a city in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2010 U.S. census placed the population at 10,215, up from 8,757 at the 2000 U. S. census. At the 2020 United States census, 9,286 people lived in the city. The city is ...

, and played on their baseball team. As a senior, he batted .451 and was named to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association's Class 5A All State team. He was not drafted in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

and enrolled at the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

where he played

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 ...

. As a freshman in 2016 at South Alabama, Swaggerty appeared in 59 games, compiling a .303 batting average with four home runs, 27 RBIs, 12 doubles and 20 stolen bases. In 2017, as a sophomore, he appeared in and started 58 games, slashing .356/.484/.571 with 11 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases. After the season, was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team. That summer, Swaggerty played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team where he batted .328/.449/.406 in 19 games, and also briefly played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Brook ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He was named a first-team preseason

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'', D1Baseball.com, and Perfect Game prior to his junior season along with being named the 2018 Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year. He finished his junior season batting .296 with 13 home runs, 38 RBIs, and a .455

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

over 57 games. He was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team for the second year in a row.

Professional career

Swaggerty was selected by the

with the tenth overall selection of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

. He signed for $4.4 million and was assigned to the

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Monongalia County Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morganto ...

of the

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, with whom he was named an All-Star. After hitting .288 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 36 games for the Black Bears, he was promoted to the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

of the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classif ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in August. He finished the season with the Power, batting .129 with one home run and five RBIs in 16 games. Swaggerty spent 2019 with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as th ...

of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

and was named an All-Star. Over 121 games, he slashed .265/.347/.381 with nine home runs, forty RBIs, and 23 stolen bases. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 after the season was cancelled due to 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 ...

. To begin the 2021 season, Swaggerty was assigned to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. On May 27, he was placed on the 60-day injured list after dislocating his right shoulder. He later had season-ending surgery. Over 41

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s prior to the injury, he hit .220 with three home runs and seven RBIs. On November 19, 2021, the Pirates selected Swaggerty's contract and added him to their 40-man roster. He returned to the Indians to begin the 2022 season. In early May, he was placed on the injured list with a concussion but was activated just a week later. On June 4, 2022, it was announced that the Pirates would be promoting Swaggerty to the major leagues. At the time of his promotion, he was batting .280 with four home runs, 22 RBIs, and two triples over 35 games. He started in center field in a game against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

on June 7, making his MLB debut. Swaggerty recorded his first major league hit against

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 ...

pitcher

Max Fried Max Dorian Fried ( ; born January 18, 1994), nicknamed "Maximus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Drafted in 2012 by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, F ...

on June 9. He was optioned back to Indianpolis on June 13. Swaggerty was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin the 2023 season.

Personal life

During Swaggerty's junior year at the University of South Alabama, his partner Peyton transferred to the school. Shortly after he was drafted, she was diagnosed with and treated for thyroid cancer. The couple married in December 2020 and they welcomed their first child, a daughter, in September 2021.

References

External links

South Alabama Jaguars bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swaggerty, Travis 1997 births Living people People from Covington, Louisiana Baseball players from Louisiana Major League Baseball outfielders Pittsburgh Pirates players South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Brewster Whitecaps players West Virginia Black Bears players West Virginia Power players Bradenton Marauders players Indianapolis Indians players