“It was tough at first,” Swihart acknowledged. “I just sat down and told myself, ‘Look, don’t be ticked off. Go about it the right way, go about my business the right way, go down here and prove to everyone I can do it.’ ”

Upon hearing that Christian Vazquez would assume primary catching duties in Boston, with Swihart going to Triple A Pawtucket to catch and start playing left field, the 24-year-old couldn’t mask his disappointment. But he also understood that he couldn’t let it linger.

Three weeks ago, for perhaps the first time in his professional career, Blake Swihart faced a fork in the road.


Swihart recognized that getting up to speed in the outfield — where he’d played for Team USA during a high school career otherwise spent primarily in the infield — could accelerate his path back to the big leagues. So he embraced the opportunity to start working with Red Sox roving outfield instructor Billy McMillon as well as the PawSox coaching staff.

“His attitude was good,” said McMillon. “He was eager to work. He wants to do whatever he can to get back to the big leagues.

“He picked up some of the concepts that I like guys to use fairly quickly. His knowledge of the game and his athleticism really put him in a position to be able to start looking more comfortable out there.”

Swihart has played four games in left field thus far, and there already are signs that he’s adapting well to the drastically altered view of the game. PawSox manager Kevin Boles noted that a pair of catches in the gap in left-center Wednesday suggested considerable aptitude for Swihart with his potential combination of solid routes and reads along with running speed to cover the grass.

Though Swihart is six years removed from his last stint in the outfield with Team USA, he said those experiences offer a solid foundation for what he’s doing now.


“It’s lucky that I’ve been out there before, so my instincts from before can kind of take over,” said Swihart. “I’m getting good jumps on the ball and getting to balls that I think a lot of people didn’t think I’d get to early on.”

Offensively, Swihart’s numbers are modest to this point. He’s hitting .234/.306/.281, though he and Boles note the uptick in his walk rate (7 in 72 plate appearances) and decline in his strikeout rate (10 in 72 plate appearances) from a year ago, which points to a maturing approach.

“I know the numbers here in Triple A aren’t there, but if they kept a stat for people lining out and people making diving plays, [the numbers] would be pretty good,” said Swihart. “I probably have more walks than I did all of last year. I’m seeing the ball really well, hitting the ball hard.”

Swihart acknowledges that he still loves catching and eventually wants his big league future to unfold behind the plate; he still does catching drills on top of his pregame work in the outfield. Boles, likewise, sees a future backstop.

That said, with the Sox short on lefthanded bats in the upper levels of the minors — particularly in the outfield — there is a sense of near-term opportunity as Swihart cultivates the ability to move around the field.


“The catching will still be there; no doubt about that,” said Boles. “We still think very highly of him as a catcher. His versatility could eventually open up some opportunities for him to get the bat in the lineup.”

Swihart saw such scenarios unfold as he came up through the minors with teammates such as Mookie Betts and Travis Shaw.

He hopes that he can emerge as the next example of a Red Sox player who solidified his place in the big leagues by proving his ability to add to his positional profile.

“I know that I want to be able to help that team win,” he said. “I want to be a big part of that team. My job is to get back up there and do anything I can to help that team.”

Wide-open draft

With roughly five weeks left until the June 9-11 draft, the board remains unusually ill-defined. The clear separation that typically occurs at the top of the US and Canadian talent pool hasn’t developed, leaving the Red Sox — who hold the No. 12 pick in the first round, a spot that yielded Nomar Garciaparra in 1994 — to scout a wide array of options.

“It’s a little bit uncharacteristic,” said amateur scouting director Mike Rikard. “No one has really established themselves at the top of the first round. I still think there’s a number of ways that teams could probably go in front of us.

“If you’ve got 15 or 20 that are in the conversation, when you sit down in the end, you want to broaden the scope as much as possible, remain open-minded to different possibilities.”


“And to be quite honest, I’m always surprised when people say they’ve narrowed their lists down so early in the process. So much can change. Guys evolve throughout the process and really throughout the spring.

“Things can change, certain scouts can see certain players differently, and guys can make a late push, especially guys from the cold-weather regions.”

While there are interesting high school players who loom as first-round candidates, and a decent array of college bats, for teams with a shortage of impact arms in the upper levels, this is likely not the draft to rectify that.

“The weak link of this group may be the college pitching,” said Rikard. “There’s two or three guys that kind of factor, but not the usual group as far as college pitchers go.”

Salem switch trials

Yoan Moncada launched his first professional grand slam Tuesday, with his first homer of the year for High A Salem coming from the left side of the plate. The 20-year-old has posted a .400/.511/.600 line against righties this year, compared with a .158/.360/.158 line against lefties — a reversal from 2015, when the switch-hitter showed most of his power while batting righthanded in High A Greenville . . . Moncada (.348/.478/.506) and Andrew Benintendi (.376/.435/.653) continue to dominate the Carolina League. Benintendi extended his hitting streak to 22 games Wednesday, and he leads the minors in extra-base hits (19) and triples (7). They’re joined in the league’s top five in batting average by teammate Mauricio Dubon (.347/.411/.378), with that top third of the order helping to propel Salem to one of the best starts in franchise history (18-8).


Thumb’s down Greenville third baseman Michael Chavis is in Fort Myers rehabbing his injured left thumb. There is no determination as to whether he’ll need surgery . . . Pawtucket first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig remains sidelined by his oblique strain, though he has begun light baseball activities. He’s played just four games this year, going 2 for 10 with two doubles . . . Outfielder Bryce Brentz, whose start was delayed by an oblique injury, is hitting .194/.341/.333 through 11 games with Double A Portland. He’s expected to move up to Triple A Pawtucket — where the playing-time situation is more crowded — once he’s gotten a foundation of consistent at-bats.

Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on twitter at @alexspeier.