Blake Swihart, Koji Uehara, Mookie Betts

Boston Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart (23) waits his turn as closer Koji Uehara congratulates Mookie Betts, far right, after a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Betts hit two solo home runs to lead the Red Sox to a 2-0 victory. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

(Elise Amendola)

BOSTON - When Blake Swihart stepped behind the plate on Saturday, the first pitch he caught in his major league career was an ordinary 91-mph four-seamer from lefthander Wade Miley.

The 23-year-old will likely catch thousands of similar four-seamers in his career.

But his debut - and frankly, his path to get to this point - has been anything but ordinary.

The Red Sox wanted to give Swihart more time to develop in Triple-A Pawtucket this season. That's why they didn't promote him when Christian Vazquez needed Tommy John surgery at the end of spring training.

But when Ryan Hanigan broke a knuckle on his right hand on Friday night, the Red Sox turned to Swihart. Hanigan's injury likely accelerated Swihart's timetable by at least a few months.

On Tuesday, Swihart caught his third major league game in four days.

He guided righthander Rick Porcello through seven scoreless innings in one of Porcello's best starts of the season.

It was the first time the two had ever been battery mates.

"I didn't even throw a bullpen to him in spring training," Porcello said after the start. "We definitely talked a lot about our game plan and what we wanted to do to guys. He really did an outstanding job, especially not catching me before and facing big-league hitters. Hats off to him."

With no veteran catcher to wean him into the league, Swihart, who's only been behind the plate since his senior year in high school, has been on quite a fasttrack.

Now he's in charge of a struggling Red Sox rotation with the worst ERA in baseball.

No pressure.

The Red Sox don't have much of a choice whether Swihart is ready or not.



But his opponents think he is.

"I don't think he's getting thrown in," Yankees bullpen coach Gary Tuck said over the weekend. "I think he's earned his way here. There was an injury that opened the door and that happened. It was a hard thing for Hanigan, a veteran receiver, but it's (Swihart's) time."

That Tuck was in the opposite dugout for Swihart's debut presented an ironic twist of fate.

Tuck was the Red Sox the bullpen coach when the team drafted the catcher out of V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, New Mexico in 2011. Tuck showed Swihart around Fenway Park along with then catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

"(Former Red Sox general manager) Theo Epstein brought him over and said, 'Will you talk to him about catching?'" Tuck recalled. "I said, 'No, but I'll put gear on him and put him through the drills with Salty.'"

"He went through A to Z in the bullpen. He's fearless. As athletic as anybody. And he had fun with it. He stood there in front of Theo and (assistant general manager) Mike Hazen. It was really cool. He went through the whole batting practice. Hit balls over the wall, messed around with (Dustin) Pedroia.

"Then I took him inside that Wall," Tuck recalled. "I gave him a pen - Flair marker - and said, 'You need to sign the wall.' He said, 'I can't, these are major league players. I said, 'Sign this wall, you'll be a major league player if you sign with the Red Sox.'

"Last thing I told him before he signed the wall was, 'Now get back here before the ink dries.' And he did. It was a special day (Saturday) and I was lucky to be here to watch him break in."

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Swihart marks the first catcher drafted in the first round by the Red Sox since Scott Hatteberg in 1991.

To put Swihart's rise to the majors in context, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound New Mexico native is one of 11 catchers drafted in the first round of the MLB draft between 2010 and 2012.

He's just the fourth catcher from that group to reach the majors as of this season.

The other three -- Los Angeles Dodgers' Yasmani Grandal, Seattle Mariners' Mike Zunino and New York Mets' Kevin Plawecki -- all played at major Division I programs Miami, Florida and Purdue, respectively.

Zunino won every major college award his senior year taking home the Dick Howser Trophy (equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy), the Golden Spikes Award (another top national award) and Johnny Bench Award (top collegiate catcher) in 2012.

Plawecki was a 2011 Johnny Bench finalist. Grandal finished second for the Golden Spikes Award in 2010

(Grandal was actually drafted by the Red Sox in 27th round in 2007 coming out of high school but chose to play at Miami.)

As for Swihart, he played mainly shortstop and outfield in high school but transitioned to catching just before his senior of high school. He committed to Texas, but instead signed with the Red Sox.

Zunino, Plawecki and Grandal all had some pretty hefty resumes with college experience entering the majors.

Swihart didn't.

"The good thing is he didn't have bad habits," Tuck said of Swihart's relative lack of experience. "It was just an athletic piece of clay that needed to be molded. And his skills in his career are going to get better and better the more he plays."

In high school, the switch-hitting Swihart posted .545 average with 41 RBIs and 19 steals in 99 at-bats. He played on the national stage for U18 Team USA and gleaned experience there.

But over the last four seasons in the Red Sox minor league system, Swihart, whose ability to hit for power is one of his biggest strengths, steadily rose through the ranks

In 325 minor league games, Swihart hit for a .287 average with a .341 on-base, .428 slugging and .769 OPS. He had 22 homers and 170 RBIs.

Baseball America MLB.com both ranked him as the No. 1 catching prospect entering this season.

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"He's a very athletic guy," Yankees catcher Brian McCann said after seeing his debut. "He can really do a lot of things. Ive been kind of watching him and keeping up with him through the minor leagues like any catcher who's going to come up here and be a mainstay. And he's got all the tools to be really, really good."

It's only been three games, but the Red Sox staff and their opponents have been impressed with the poise and preparation of Swihart.

"To me his willingness to learn and want to learn," Porcello said of what stood out the most in his first game with Swihart. "He came up to me and we were talking about this start the past couple of days so it's one of those things where a young catcher like that, he's up in the big leagues for the first time and the fact that he wanted to talk about pitch selection and how to go about hitters that's saying something."

Swihart is inquisitive and seems to learn quickly.

"I spent a lot of time talking to (Porcello) yesterday during the game, watching the game, he and I were sitting side-by-side most of the game, like, 'Hey, what do you feel like right here?" Swihart said. "What do you feel like right there? This situation here, what does it dictate?' I just wanted to get on the same page and do everything I could to get on the same page."

Rays manager Kevin Cash, a former catcher, didn't notice much from Swihart after one game behind the plate. But that he didn't notice anything is almost noteworthy in itself.

"I'm sure he's going through a lot right now getting to know and learning these pitchers," Cash said. "You learn them in spring training but it's a little different animal when you get here."

Swihart spent just 36 games between this season and last at Triple-A. He opened last season in Double-A Portland and caught 92 games before his promotion to Pawtucket in August.

"It's so fast," McCann said. "The difference been Double A and Triple A to the big leagues its not that next jump. You're not just jumping into a new league, you're jumping into a whole new world. The game is fast and if you let your instincts take over eventually it will slow down. "

Without Hanigan or another veteran catcher at his side, Swihart has the reins. But it also means he'll be learning a lot on the fly.

"I think at times that can be valuable and at times it can be overrated," Tuck said of having a veteran catch to work alongside Swihart. "Because of the manager, because of the pitching coach, the catching coach and what they've got going on over there."

Tuesday's 2-0 win marked the first with Swihart behind the plate.

"There was just a different feeling. I was comfortable," Swihart said. "The first few days I was comfortable, but going out there today, I wanted it. I wanted to win. I wasn't too worried about whether I hit or not because Rick was doing his thing on the mound. That's all I was worrying about.

"That's the main focus I have right now, is catching. I'm not really worried about hitting. Whatever happens, happens. But my main focus is making sure I'm there for these guys on the mound."

Follow MassLive.com sports reporter @jcmccaffrey on Twitter. She can be reached by email at jmccaffr@masslive.com.