2021 Mets Draft profile: Nick Zwack

Nick Zwack was a multisport star at Monticello High School, captaining the baseball team, playing starting quarterback on the football team, and playing hockey, earning All-State honors in all three sports. He was particularly good in baseball, where he dominated on the mound. After graduating in 2017, he attended Xavier University, earning himself a Division I scholarship and moving all the way from Minnesota to Cincinnati.

His freshman season was something of a disappointment, especially considering the expectations that had been placed on the left-hander from others and on himself. In 61.1 innings, he posted a 6.31 ERA, allowing 53 hits, walking 39, and striking out 68. He played for the Saugerties Stallions of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League that summer and returned to Xavier in 2019 to have another disappointing season. In 53.0 innings, Zwack posted a 6.28 ERA, allowing 61 hits, walking 24, and striking out 43. That summer, he played for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League, and it was there that the southpaw seemingly turned the corner. While the numbers there don’t necessarily reflect it, he made some mechanical adjustments that led to an increase in velocity, which in turn led to the left-hander having an easier time against batters and putting less pressure on himself.

Though he threw limited innings in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season thanks to COVID-19, he was clearly a different pitcher. In 23.1 innings over four starts, Zwack posted a 2.31 ERA, allowing 10 hits, walking 9, and striking out 28. He went undrafted in the abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft and returned to Xavier for his senior season. Pitching as the Musketeer’s Friday night ace, the southpaw posted a 3.15 ERA in a team-high 80.0 innings, allowing 69 hits, walking 33, and striking out 75, earning First Team All-Big East honors. Over the course of his four years at Xavier, Zwack posted a cumulative 4.71 ERA in 217.2 innings, allowing 193 hits, walking 105, and striking out 214, those 214 strikeouts sixth most in Musketeers history.

The left-hander stands 6’4” and weighs 225-pounds, though he seems a bit lankier than that. He throws from a low-three-quarters arm slot, slinging the ball at batters with a long arm action through the back.

His fastball sits in the low-90s and can top out at 94 MPH. It features arm-side action thanks to his whippy arm action and the high spin rate the pitch possesses. It is most effective when throw high at the letters, where it can “rise” and fool batters. He complements his fastball with a slider and changeup. His slider is an average-to-above-average pitch, sitting in the high-70s-to-low-80s with big, sweepy break and his changeup is a fringe-average pitch sitting in the low-80s with fade and tumble.