JAMES NEGRYCH

3/2/85; '06 6th; Univ. of Pittsburgh
R/R; 5-10, 180

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2004 NCAA
.378
.464
.592
201
20
1
7
33
36
12
7
2005 NCAA
.349
.471
.694
186
14
1
16
44
37
11
2
2006 NCAA
.396
.515
.654
182
14
0
11
40
42
6
2
2006 A-
.267
.327
.384
146
7
2
2
13
19
1
1
2007 A
.282
.340
.365
340
14
4
2
27
48
4
1
2008 AA
.310
.394
.368
87
5
0
0
11
14
5
1
2008 A+
.370
.448
.508
386
36
1
5
55
55
7
6

Negrych is a local product who did one thing exceptionally well in college, and that was hit.  The ability earned him a variety of All-America and All-Big East honors.  He has below average speed and is poor defensively, but he had an excellent line drive bat with some power and was regarded by scouts as playing above his tools.  Negrych was part of a pattern over two years of the Pirates selecting offense-oriented secondbasemen, such as Cameron Blair and Shelby Ford.  It was a curious pattern for them, because that's exactly the sort of player they disliked at the major league level.  Under Dave Littlefield they were consistently reluctant to give jobs to players who offered good offense but questionable defense, such as Craig Wilson, Chris Shelton, Bobby Hill, and Ryan Doumit.  Negrych, Blair and Ford also are roughly similar to Jeff Keppinger, whom the Pirates didn't regard very highly despite his strong performance because he wasn't toolsy or athletic.

Negrych signed quickly after the draft and played for Williamsport.  He started very slowly, fanning a lot, not drawing walks and generally not hitting.  After the first few weeks, though, he got hot, with his plate discipline especially improving.  Unfortunately, he tore ligaments in his thumb in early August, ending his season after he had batted .474 in the first six games of that month.  He was ready to go at the start of 2007, but had only a fair year at Hickory.  He hit for a decent average and made contact, but didn't show any power or get on base at an especially good rate.  He struggled against LHPs, which he hadn't done at Williamsport, posting only a .565 OPS against them.  He missed over a month with an oblique strain.  Defensively, he at least didn't have problems with errors, committing only 10.

Negrych moved to 3B at Lynchburg in 2008, possibly in an effort to see if he'd be useful in a utility role.  The thumb injury must have had something to do with his weak 2007 season, because he did nothing but hit in 2008.  He's never likely to hit for power beyond doubles, but he has an excellent eye and makes consistent hard contact.  He had a significant platoon split again in 2008.  Negrych adjusted well to AA after a late season promotion.  He played strictly 3B in AA and only 17 games at 2B at Lynchburg.  I'm still listing him at 2B because I suspect his exact position could remain rather fluid.  His position probably isn't terribly relevant because he is not good defensively, and by this I don't mean "shaky" or "inconsistent," I mean he just doesn't have the tools to play defense.  He committed 31 errors in 2008.  He's awkward in the field and doesn't have good hands or a good arm.  It's unlikely he'll be a regular in the majors, but he could be a very good bat off the bench.  The Pirates are likely to start him off at Altoona in 2009.  They delayed promoting him during the 2008 season due to concerns about his defense, and there's no reason for those concerns to go away.  It's not, however, realistic to think he's going to become a good defensive player, so they should try to focus most on figuring out how to take advantage of his bat.

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