Trenton manager Manto impressed by Southern trio in MLB Draft League

Jun. 12—It's an opportunity Jeff Manto doesn't take lightly.

The former journeyman baseball player and hitting coach sees his position as manager of the Trenton Thunder — in its inaugural season of the MLB Draft League — as a responsibility.

"It's a great honor to be a part of this league, especially an inaugural one," said Manto, who played in the big leagues for nine years and was the hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox. "It's a responsibility to a lot of kids out here. It's a responsibility we are all taking pretty seriously knowing we'll have a small impact on their careers going forward."

And that includes the careers of Missouri Southern standouts Zach Parish, Logan VanWey and Dexter Swims, who have played in the draft league this summer.

Parish and Swims, who signed two-week contracts, have returned home while VanWey remains with the Trenton club. The draft league, which was started and is run by MLB and Prep Baseball Report, features amateur prospects at all levels aiming to improve their stock before July's 20-round MLB Draft.

Manto said the competition is comparable to what was seen in the now defunct short-season A-ball teams in the New York-Penn, Pioneer and Appalachian leagues.

"It's comparable to those leagues and sometimes maybe better because there are not as many high school players involved," Manto said. "Sometimes you have a high school player or two involved in the Penn League, but the pitching stands out top-to-bottom.

"The pitching is phenomenal. There's a lot of movement to the pitches. There's a lot of high-velocity guys. There are a lot of big, physical pitchers. The hitters are putting good swings on this good pitching. It has been a great experience. The level is as good as any baseball I've seen, especially at high-level college and low-level minor leagues."

Fresh off a historic career with the Lions, Parish picked up right where he left off in the draft league.

The NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Year made the most of his two starts, posting a 1.17 ERA while striking out eight batters through 7 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs (one earned) on one hit and held opposing bats to a minuscule .042 batting clip.

"Zach came in and really impressed a lot of people," Manto said. "He was really impressive. He threw strikes and pounded the strike zone ... not afraid of the bat. He used his stuff really well and had a really mature way about him."

Parish throws a 87-90 mph heater but features a four-pitch mix with his bread-and-butter offering being a changeup.

"His stuff was right there with anybody's," Manto said. "He was a typical left-hander who painted the arm-side fastball. He had good secondary stuff. When he left, we were disappointed because we thought he was going to be one of our top guys.

"I think he could move fast in affiliated ball. One thing lefties have to do is learn how to get righties out. He had enough maturity about him to know that and know how to get through a lineup. I still think if he ends up somewhere, he's going to have a very successful career."

VanWey, a Webb City product, has also raised eyebrows. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound righty has fanned 12 batters in five scoreless relief outings for the Thunder.

"He has electric stuff," Manto said. "His stuff is electric. There is a lot of funk to his motion. It just seems that it's hard for hitters to see the ball. The reaction to some of their swings is they do not see the ball. That's a real credit to him."

VanWey has been up to 97 miles per hour on his heater. He has averaged 92-94 mph while spinning his fastball at nearly 2,500 RPMs — one of the top marks in the draft league — while mixing in a slider and changeup.

"(Spin rate) is a big thing now," Manto said. "He will have to continue to miss bats. The spin rate on his stuff is great and it is playing right now. If he continues to miss bats and throw the way he is, it's going to be a good thing for his career."

Swims finished with a .286 average while hitting out of the leadoff spot. In 11 games, he recorded eight hits, two RBI and scored 11 runs.

"I'll tell you what, Dexter was great for us," Manto said. "He came in and worked his butt off. He's a hard-working kid. He pivots around second base really well. He had some good at-bats. He's a very competitive and strong-minded kid. We loved having him around. He too has a bright future."

Swims showed his ability to make hard contact, generating a 107.1-mph exit velocity on a groundout on June 3 against West Virginia.

"I think he opened some eyes from the analytical side," Manto said. "He does a lot of good things right on the field. When I watched him, I was always comfortable when he was playing."

Manto enjoyed coaching all three of the Southern standouts this summer.

"It was an awesome experience for me to manage these guys," Manto said. "I'm going to be proud one day to say, 'Hey, I had a small thing to do with their success.' Our coaching staff enjoyed having them."