MPHO GIFT NGOEPE
1/18/1990; NDFA '08; South Africa
B/R; 5-9, 165
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2009 R |
.238 |
.341 |
.281 |
160 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
21 |
52 |
13 |
9 |
The Pirates signed the 18-year-old Ngoepe—who appears to go
by the name "Gift"—after watching him in a tournament in Italy. The
signing at least shows
the Pirates are becoming more aggressive in searching for talent,
something that was completely lacking under the previous regime. They brought him to
the GCL for his first year and he served as
the regular secondbaseman and usually as the leadoff hitter. He also
played a dozen games at short. He has very good speed and athleticism. Ngoepe
had only six errors total, which is a low number for a
middle infielder in rookie ball. He was hitting around .300 in
mid-July but slumped after that. Overall, he did a
good job of getting
on base but fanned a lot and showed
no power. The Pirates claim they consider him a prospect. There have been
reams written about him, including an article in Sports
Illustrated. The consensus among scouts seems to be that he's good enough defensively, but
will have to improve a lot with the bat to have a real chance. Considering
the fact that he hasn't had a lot of experience against professional quality
pitching, it's conceivable he could make strides over time. He's likely to
be at State College next year.
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