Reid Brignac

In the second round of the 2004 draft, then Rays' scouting director, Tim Wilken, took a shortstop from St. Amount High School in Louisiana, Reid Brignac. That draft has seemed to be one of the best drafts in recent memory. Four of their first five selections are Top 100 prospects, Brignac, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis and Jake McGee. Brignac signed rather quickly for $750,000. Going into the draft Brignac was projected as a 3rd-5th rounder with signability issues. He was ranked the 100th best prospect in the nation by Baseball America. He was given dues for his batspeed from the leftside, but his defense was a question as it seemed likely he would end up as a thirdbaseman or a corner outfielder. He had projectable power as he matured physically.

The Rays started him out in their Rookie Level club, Princeton of the Appalachian League. Brignac had an impressive debut hitting .361 with a HR in 25 games, showing solid plate discipline, 9 walks to 10 Ks in 97 AB. He did well enough to be rated the number four prospect in the league. They commended him on his discipline out of high school and said his arm was good enough for short, but he still may move to another position down the road. He also was ranked the number five prospect in the Devil Ray system, with notes that his bat could play anywhere and his athleticism should allow him to play anywhere. Their feeling was that he would still outgrow shortstop.

In 2005 the Devil Rays sent the 19 year old to Low A Southwest Michigan in the Midwest League. Brignac struggled for most of the season and his plate discipline collapsed. He managed to hit 15 home runs, but struck out 131 times in just 512 ABs. He had a decent walk total of 40 but managed to hit just .267 with an OPS well under .750. Baseball America was still relatively high on him as he was ranked the 17th best prospect in the league. They added that he had good loft power and still were concerned he would have to move away from short. They also ranked him the fourth best prospect for the Devil Rays and commended his sweet swing and loft power.

The Devil Rays bumped the kid up to Visilia, their High A club in the California League. Just because of his enironment, his power numbers would increase due to the hitter friendly league. Southwest Michigan was relatively average in the Midwest League, but Visilia is a home run juggernaut of a park. Their HR park factor from 2003-05 was +60% in an already high league. Brignac hit .326 with 21 HRs in 100 games. He still had a slight issue with the strikeouts 82 and only walked 35 times in those games. However, there is encouraging things in his splits. Yes, he played in a HR park, but 11 of those home runs were on the road and he hit better on the road overall. Brignac then was promoted to Montgomery of the Southern League. Montgomery is a complete contrast from Visilia. It is a pitcher's park in a pitcher's league. Brignac managed to hit .300 in 110 ABs there, but only hit 3 home runs and struck out a whopping 31 times compared to 7 walks.

Overall his tools are solid across the board. He has a sweet swing from the left side that produces line drives consistently. His speed is solid, but not great. This year he has swiped 15 bags but has been caught 6 times. His footwork, hands and arm are all good enough to stick at shortstop, but he's really made strides this year in his lateral quickness and range. More people think he is going to stick than last year. However there is now a logjam at third and second for the Rays. Fellow prospect Evan Longoria and former phenom BJ Upton are at 2B and 3B, respectively. I guess the Rays are dead locked on him being able to remain at short. Right now Brignac is looking like the second or third prospect in the league. Carlos Gonzalez is the consensus number one. Sean Rodriguez and Franklin Morales are close to Brignac. The Rays will probably keep Brignac in AA to start 2007 and then promote him to AAA if he performs well. If he performs well there he might get a September callup and see significant action in 2008.

For what it's worth, he's got a badass nickname: The Cajun God of Baseball