Nick Swiney

A reliever for North Carolina State during his first two seasons, Swiney always racked up strikeouts (career 13.6 per nine rate) but struggled to consistently throw strikes as a freshman and sophomore. His control took a big step forward this season when he transitioned to the Friday night starter's role. Swiney dominated in four outings before the season shut down, posting a 1.29 ERA with 42 strikeouts and six walks in 28 innings. His 15 strikeouts against Purdue on Feb. 29 were the most by an NC State pitcher since Carlos Rodon in 2014. Swiney doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but his three-pitch mix is solid and plays up with a bit of funk in his delivery. His fastball ranges anywhere from 87-92 mph and touches 93-94 mph at its best. He has two solid secondaries in a curveball that could be an above-average pitch and a changeup he’s increasingly become more comfortable throwing. Swiney was trending in the right direction, but teams would have liked to see his stuff and improved control would have held up over a full season. Still, he did enough to put himself in second to fourth round consideration for most teams.