Reid Michael Brignac
Bats: Left, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 3", Weight: 180 lb.
Born: January 16, 1986 in St. Amant, Louisiana, US
Drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2nd round of the 2004 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Prospect Ratings by Baseball America:
Pre-2007: Rated #17 Prospect
Pre-2008: Rated #39 Prospect
Pre-2009: Rated #78 Prospect
From prospectinsider.com
Since the talk of the Seattle Mariners looking into Tamp Bay Rays shortstop Reid Brignac has become a topic of conversation when Dave Cameron of USSMariner.com broke that to 710 ESPN Radio, all I've been doing is calling around and asking about Brignac.
After having done so, and doing a little research, here's what I feel comfortable saying I know about Brignac:
He was a second-round pick by the Rays in 2004, No. 45 overall, out of St. Amant HS in Louisiana, the alma mater of Ben and Andy Sheets, as well as former reserve infielder Kim Batiste.
In his first pro season he hit .361/.413/.474 in 25 games in the Appalachian League and then went 7-for-14 with a double in three starts in A ball.
He reached the pinnacle of his prospect status in 2006 when a 20-year-old Brignac hit .328/.384/.560 with 35 walks and 82 Ks in 100 games for Visalia in the California League, and followed that up with 28 respectable games (.300/.355/.473, 7BB, 31 K) in AA Montgomery to end the year.
At the time, the concerns in his game included questions as to whether he'd stick at shortstop and whether he'd make enough contact and get on base enough to allow his power to make him a premium offensive shortstop.
His OPS sank to .761 in 2007 at Double-A Montgomery, including 94 strikeouts in 133 games (not alarmingly bad), but he did draw 55 walks and steal 15 bases.
He regressed at the plate even further in 2008, however, racking up 93 whiffs in 97 games and drawing just 25 walks. He hit .250/.299/.412.
Defensively, however, he convinced the Rays and rival scouts that he's a shortstop for the long haul, cleaning up his actions around the bag at second and improving on slow rollers and moving to his right.
A strong start to his 2009 season has shown one scout that Brignac is mixing the success of his past years -- power in some, patience in another -- at Triple-A Durham, and enters play today -- in the bigs -- after hitting .291/.356/.461 with three homers, 13 doubles and a triple in a Bulls uniform. He made eight errors in the minors, but has just two in 143 innings at shortstop and none in two frames at second base for the Rays.
Here are some other statistics that help describe Reid Brignac:
Versus LHP in MiLB
2004 @ Princeton (SS): .329/.393/.455 (.898 OPS v. RHP)
2005 @ Southwest Michigan (A) : .238/.314/.381 (.746 OPS v. RHP)
2006 @ Visalia (A+) : .302/.365/.442 (.974 OPS v. RHP)
2007 @ Montgomery (AA) : .286/.336/.427 (.759 OPS v. RHP)
2008 @ Durham (AAA): .236/.277/.382 (.734 OPS v. RHP)
2009 @ Durham (AAA): .258/.303/.355 (.861 OPS v. RHP)
Scout's Word
"I've seen quite a bit of Reid since day one," said one NL scout who was an area scout for the Orioles during the 2004 Draft in which Brignac was selected. "I liked him enough for round one and thought they (Tampa) got a steal in the second. He's had his ups and downs, but he's putting it all together. He's still young and has time to polish off his game and be an all-star."
While All-star might be a bit much to ask, there's no doubting Brignac's tools. His work ethic can't be questioned, either.
"When a young player gets that much better with the glove and on the bases between seasons, he's put in a lot of extra time," the scout said. "In my days in player development, the hardest worker I ever saw was a kid that never played. But Brignac has some physical ability. He can play shortstop, hit, and he's a smart enough player to make short and long-term adjustments in the big leagues. He'll just need some experience in the majors to get acclimated."
I also asked the same scout (a former minor league manager and big-league third baseman) about Brignac's splits versus left-handers.
"This is something certain organizations are more bullish with right away, while others are patient and allow the kids time. The specialists in this game make it tougher than it's ever been, and now arms don't make the show, even in relief, if you can't get out hitters from your side. Left-handers in the big leagues all have out pitches versus lefty sticks. And they are in the big leagues for that reason. I wouldn't put Brignac in that corner before he's had a full seasons or two against lefties -- in the major leagues."
This echos my own thoughts; platooning a 23-year-old with almost no big-league experience who has pop and generally gives himself a chance at the plate is selling the player short and ultimately hurting the team.
You can't have a group of platoons on one roster and Seattle might have to do such a thing with Franklin Gutierrez at some point. So unless you can find a good switch-hitting SS/CF for reserve money -- good luck with that, they are all regulars-- one of them will have to face everyone.
Tools
Hitting for Average/On-Base Skills
Brignac's contact rates have improved somewhat and he's never been Brandon Wood in the strikeout column, which should help him maintain respectable batting averages. He's revamped his swing and approach a little bit this season -- a lot of Tampa Bay Rays bats have done this (Ben Zobrist, Jason Bartlett) and he's giving up a little bit of power to be able to sustain his average more consistently. He works the count some, but he's never going to draw 80 walks a year or anything.
If he can learn to go the other way more effectively, he may hit .280 or better. But he gets into stretched where he's looking to do too much and tries to pull everything, similar to Jeff Clement.
Now: 45
Future: 55
Hitting for Power
Even with the shorter swing with a longer path in the zone, Brignac still possesses above-average power, created by the above-average bat speed he generates. The key will be his discipline, as he tends to chase balls and is too often fooled by good breaking balls down.
But make a mistake and he can and will make the pitcher pay enough to change the way he's pitched the next time around.
Now: 50
Future: 55+
Arm Strength
Brignac won't wow anyone with Troy Tulowitzki-like arm strength, but there's plenty there and his release is quick enough and very consistent.
His throws from second on double plays have improved dramatically since 2006, right along with the rest of his defense.
Now: 50
Future: 50
Speed and Base running
Brignac is not a burner, and isn't likely to steal more than 10-15 bags a year in the big leagues. But he's a smart baserunner with above-average speed.
Now: 55
Future: 55
Defensive Range, Reliability
Brignac's worked with Tampa minor league coach Manny Castillo and big-league infield coach (and former Mariners 3rd base coach) Dave Myers to shore up his present skills and polish up the raw versions.
After showing lateral range deficiencies in 2006, Brignac's work has paid off and one scout called him the "best glove of the bigger, bat-oriented shortstops," that includes Wood, Jason Donald, Chris Nelson and Todd Frazier.
He turns two at average or better levels and while he's still not as sure-handed, so to speak, as he will be, it's not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when he gets there. A Gold Glove is not out of the question, though he's unlikely to make the flashy plays voters tend to be fooled by.
Now: 50
Future: 55-60
Boy all of that up there sounds an awful lot like Nick Franklin's absolute ceiling, minus the pop.
Overall, Brignac is a good player with no glaring weaknesses and would help the Mariners on the field immediately on the defensive side and would bring a little bit of a different element to the lineup despite the probability that struggles making contact -- and versus lefties -- for the time being.
I wouldn't trade Bedard and Clement for Brignac straight up, but only because I think the club can do better for Bedard. But there isn't one player on the roster not named Felix Hernandez that, in a vacuum, I wouldn't trade to get Brignac.
His presence, as Cameron noted today via e-mail, possibly helps Felix Hernandez go from really good to insanely good, statistically, and he saves the club the hassle of the ongoing search for middle infield help -- times TWO.
If the Mariners landed Brignac, for whoever, they could probably start focusing on the 2010 rotation and choose between a new 3B or a new 2B in other trades.
I have no idea how likely it is Seattle can obtain Brignac, and I don't think Bedard is a match for the Rays in any sense -- they aren't able to look toward October sitting five games back in the East with three teams to climb and three games back in the Wildcard race with two teams to pass, and renting players has never been their MO -- but maybe some combination of David Aardsma (who they could keep beyond 2009, as he's not FA eligible) and Clement could get it done.
Tampa's going to need bullpen help no matter what happens with Scott Kazmir, so we could see TB call about DA whether it has anything to do with Brignac or not, and though Tampa's MO has also never been about trading young players, Bartlett isn't losing his job, a contending club probably wants more out of their 2B than what Brignac could give them (plus, he's played all of two innings there as a pro -- ZERO in the minors) and their future at shortstop is Tim Beckham, last year's No. 1 pick.