Matt Sweeney (minors02)

Matthew Sweeney

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 215 lb.
• High School Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School

• Born April 4, 1988 in Gaithersburg, MD USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Matt Sweeney peaked at AA.

He was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 8th round of the 2006 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Dan Radcliff and made his pro debut that summer. He had a fine pro debut with the AZL Angels, hitting .341/.431/.576 with 7 triples, 38 runs and 39 RBI in 44 games. He was also 1 for 6 for the Orem Owlz. He was among the Arizona League leaders in average (4th after Luis Durango, Cedric Hunter and Andrew Lefave), OBP (6th), slugging (1st by 53 points over John Alonso), OPS (1st by 56 points over Hunter), runs (7th), home runs (5, tied for 5th), triples (tied for second with Nick Van Stratten and Carlos Peguero), RBI (tied for 4th with Rich Janeway) and total bases (98, 2nd, 5 behind Hunter). He was named the Arizona League All-Star third baseman.

In 2007, Matt hit .260/.324/.458 with 18 home runs and 72 RBI for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but made 28 errors at third base and fielded only .862. He tied Drew Stubbs for 8th in the Midwest League in doubles (29), was 5th in home runs and just missed the top 10 in RBI. He missed 2008 due to an ankle injury. In his comeback from the injury, Sweeney was used primarily at DH in 2009; he bounced between the AZL Angels (4 for 15, 2B, 2 BB), Charlotte Stone Crabs (3 for 19, 2B, 3 BB) and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (.299/.379/.517, 17 2B, 9 HR, 44 RBI in 58 G). The games for the Stone Crabs came after a trade to the Tampa Bay Rays with Alexander Torres and a player to be named (Sean Rodriguez) for Scott Kazmir.

2010 was a rough year as Sweeney hit .225 and fielded .861 between Charlotte (.264/.345/.488 in 34 G) and the Montgomery Biscuits (.196/.263/.276 in 46 G). He struck out in 86 of 284 at-bats. His production fell further in 2011; moved to first base due to his defense, he eked out a .154/.262/.282 line in 82 games, striking out in 92 of 266 AB for Montgomery. Moving to the Baltimore Orioles chain in '12, his woes continued. He hit .250/.307/.397 in 33 games for the Frederick Keys and made 12 errors in 27 games at the hot corner before getting his release.

Primary Source: 2011 Rays Media Guide