Trey Thomas Sweeney (born April 24, 2000) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Eastern Illinois Panthers. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft and traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023 and Detroit Tigers in 2024. He made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2024.
| Trey Sweeney | |
|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers – No. 27 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: April 24, 2000 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 16, 2024, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .218 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 17 |
| Teams | |
| |
Amateur career
editSweeney grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended St. Xavier High School. As a senior, he batted .389 with 41 RBIs and 18 stolen bases as St. Xavier won the state championship.[1] Sweeney committed to play baseball at Eastern Illinois University, which was the only Division I school to offer him a scholarship.[2]
Sweeney played college baseball for the Eastern Illinois Panthers for three seasons. He became a starter as a freshman and was named to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) All-Freshman team after batting .266 with 61 total bases, 27 runs scored, and 24 runs batted in (RBIs).[3] After the season, Sweeney played collegiate summer baseball for the Lafayette Aviators of the Prospect League and was named a league All-Star after slashing .354/.453/.524 in 257 plate appearances.[4][5] He batted .351 as a sophomore before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.[6] As a redshirt sophomore, Sweeney was named the OVC Player of the Year after he hit .382 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs and was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award.[7] Due to his performance he became rated as one of the best college batting prospects in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.[8][9]
Professional career
editNew York Yankees
editSweeney was selected with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Yankees.[10] On July 19, 2021, Sweeney signed with the Yankees. He was assigned to the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Yankees to start his professional career and was later promoted to the Tampa Tarpons of the Low-A Southeast.[11] Over 32 games between the two teams, Sweeney slashed .261/.384/.584 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs.[12] He opened the 2022 season with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the High-A South Atlantic League.[13] Sweeney was promoted to the Double-A Somerset Patriots after batting .241 with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs in 100 games played with Hudson Valley.[14]
Los Angeles Dodgers
editOn December 11, 2023, the Yankees traded Sweeney to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Victor González and Jorbit Vivas.[15][16] Sweeney was selected to participate in the inaugural "Spring Breakout" minor league showcase during spring training 2024[17] and he was assigned to the Triple–A Oklahoma City Baseball Club to start the season,[18] where he hit .255 in 96 games with 13 homers and 62 RBI.[19]
Detroit Tigers
editOn July 30, 2024, the Dodgers traded Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Jack Flaherty.[20] In 11 games for the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens, he batted .381/.447/.667 with two home runs, nine RBI, four stolen bases. On August 16, Sweeney was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his Major League debut the same day, against the New York Yankees, the team by which he was originally drafted.[21]
References
edit- ^ Yates, Dominique (July 11, 2021). "St. Xavier's Trey Sweeney No. 20 pick to New York Yankees in Major League Baseball Draft". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ Miller, Randy (July 13, 2021). "Yankees No. 1 pick Trey Sweeney wants to be another Derek Jeter: 'I'm up for the challenge'". NJ.com. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ "Eastern Illinois University Roundup: five named all-Ohio Valley Conference in baseball". Journal Gazette & Times-Courier. May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Five Lafayette Aviators to play in Prospect League All-Star game". Journal & Courier. July 16, 2019.
- ^ Morris, Adam J. (June 22, 2021). "Texas Rangers 2021 draft preview: Trey Sweeney". Lone Star Ball.
- ^ Zielinski III, Dan (May 10, 2021). "Trey Sweeney rising up draft boards". Baseball Prospect Journal. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Brooks Wallace Award finalists announced". MLB.com. June 2, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ Mayo, Jonathan; Callis, Jim (June 15, 2021). "5 Draft prospects with helium". MLB.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ "Trey Sweeney Landing On Many First Round Draft Boards". Eastern Illinois University Athletics.
- ^ "Yankees' Trey Sweeney: Selected 20th overall by Yankees". CBSSports.com. July 12, 2021.
- ^ Devin, Jake (August 1, 2021). "Yankees prospects: Trey Sweeney hits first professional homer". PinstripeAlley.com. SB Nation. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "Former Panthers Wrap up Pro Baseball Seasons".
- ^ "Hudson Valley Renegades begin the season with high hopes, star-studded roster".
- ^ Rosenstein, Mike (September 9, 2022). "Yankees minor league roundup: Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, Trey Sweeney keep raking". NJ.com. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Joyce, Greg (December 11, 2023). "Yankees trade prospect Trey Sweeney to Dodgers for Victor Gonzalez, Jorbit Vivas". New York Post. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Dodgers-Yankees trade opens roster spot for Shohei Ohtani". ESPN.com. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Toribio, Juan (March 7, 2024). "Here's the Dodgers' 2024 Spring Breakout roster". mlb.com. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Stephen, Eric (March 29, 2024). "Dodgers Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City sets preliminary roster for 2024". SB Nation. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Trey Sweeney Amateur, College & Minor League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Toribio, Juan (July 30, 2024). "Dodgers get Flaherty from Tigers, Kiermaier from Jays". mlb.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ McDonald, Darragh (August 16, 2024). "Tigers Designate Gio Urshela, Easton Lucas For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Eastern Illinois Panthers bio