Jim Negrych

by DITO on Aug 25, 2008 1:57 PM EDT Comment 11 comments

Is looking like a fairly legitimate prospect. He didn't show power in his first season, but hit a ton of doubles as a 23 year old this year at Lynchburg. Since his promotion to Altoona he hasn't kept the power, but he is still hitting and has a decent walk rate. He is on an eight game hitting streak while he is 13/29 (all singles) and three walks.

Basically, there are two questions I want to ask in this post: can he play second base and is his bat legit? He is playing third now, but WTM still has him listed as a second baseman--just didn't update this or is there something behind it? I know there has been a lot of worry about his defense, but qualitatively (with the exception of range, maybe), I feel second base is easier to play than third. His bat would be more valuable at second and he'd have an easier path to the majors.

Does he hit the ball hard? Is he athletic enough to possibly improve with the glove? I just haven't seen him play, and if I try to think about the 2010 roster I'd love to put him at 2B. Is this feasible?

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He can wear a glove and stand in the field. That’s about it, defensively. They moved him to third because they gave up on him as a prospective 2B, and honestly, I think even third might be stretching things.

If you remember Josh Bonifay, Negrych is kind of like Josh, only a little younger and with knees that aren’t broken.

by Vlad on Aug 25, 2008 2:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He moves around a little

The best play I’ve seen Negrych make was one where Eric Krebs took a line drive off his head. The ball caromed over to Negrych and he reacted quickly to catch it on the fly. Sort of like a tip drill. Not something I’d want to see again, although Krebs thankfully appears to be OK after missing about a month.

I wouldn’t compare him to Bonifay, though. Bonifay was much better defensively.

I didn’t bother to list Negrych at 3B yet because I suspect he’ll just go wherever there isn’t somebody else. His real position, as far as prospectdom is concerned, is bat off the bench. I could see him having a John Vander Wal/Dave Hansen sort of career. Could be darn good at it.

by WTM on Aug 25, 2008 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I figured you

would be at that game,Wilbur!
I talked to Krebs about the play and he said that the ball measured at well over 100 MPH off the bat and upon contact.
The best part was when (affirmed by two others) was that Krebs refused to leave the game.
When I talked to Eric about this,he told me “yeah,I told them that,but I really didnt mean it”…

Check out my blog at thoughtsofrs@blogspot.com

by Count Vertigo on Aug 26, 2008 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ow

I wish I’d known at the time that he was speaking at all. That play gave me a headache just to see it.

Btw, do you know anything about what became of Jose Diaz and Tom Boleska?

by WTM on Aug 26, 2008 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Boleska

went on the DL shortly after Hickory was here in town.
That could be why he didnt look so swift here.
Last I heard on him was just soreness and shutting him down.

Have heard nothing on Jose Diaz since his two game April cameo at Hickory.

Check out my blog at thoughtsofrs@blogspot.com

by Count Vertigo on Aug 26, 2008 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Teams want their best hands guys up the middle,

meaning second basemen that commit errors on an everyday basis aren’t going to be second basemen for long. His bat seems to keep him moving up the ladder but with the influx of talent coming in at third base, I wonder how much further up the system Negrych will progress.

Maybe NH will ask Negrych to play some winter ball in the Dominican, Mexico or Venezuela to get more reps and hopefully improve his defensive woes. Hate to see someone with his offensive skills not come around with the glove work.

by ElliottBayBucco on Aug 25, 2008 2:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Jim Negrych:

“He can wear a glove and stand in the field. That’s about it, defensively.”

Vlad says he sucks in the field. There have been others here to say the same thing. If management thought much of anything about him as a prospect, would they have been so keen on getting IFs into the organization in this year`s draft?

“Since his promotion to Altoona he hasn’t kept the power”

Doesn`t sound too good either. Can`t play D and can`t hit for power as he moves up the minor league system. Sounds like a non-prospect. A good organizational guy.

by patthatt on Aug 25, 2008 2:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That's the thing I didn't know, and still really am not sure about...

can he hit for power? He was a little old for Lynchburg but he did slug .508 there (although batting-average-inflated a little) in just his second professional season. And 83 at bats at AA isn’t enough to write him off, unless maybe if you have seen him a lot and believe he just doesn’t have the swing or the bat speed. Maybe I am just optimistic about his bat because I’d love to see a Pitt grad succeed.

I am not here to make the case that he is a stud, I am just curious to hear if people think he can be in the mix at 2B if he cuts down on his errors over the next season or two.

No one seems to think he has much upside, so I guess I found my answer.

by DITO on Aug 25, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Organizational guy might be a bit harsh.

I think Wilbur’s about right. If he continues to develop, I think he’ll see the majors as a bench guy and PH who can back up at 1B/3B and maybe corner OF, in situations where defense doesn’t matter that much.

Hitting lefty will help there.

by Vlad on Aug 26, 2008 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope you`re right, Vlad,

but he`d better hit a ton for your scenario to work out, and, if there is no power there, it`s going to be tough for Jim Negrych to ever make it past AAA.

There is a guy who has been a dynamite hitter for 4 years here in Japan named Rick Short who never got more than a brief call-up to the majors in his many years in various teams` systems. He always hit a lot in the minors, but the excuses were always the same: He doesn`t really play “D” well enough to fit in as a bench player…he doesn`t hit for power etc. , and according to what you and WTM have said about Negrych, I can guarantee you that Rick Short is a much superior all-around player to him.

But this is just one example, and you never know, so I guess we should be optimistic about Jim Negrych and hope for the best.

by patthatt on Aug 26, 2008 12:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Tough times

What’s really hurt guys like Short is the expansion of the typical pitching staff. Especially in the NL there’s a huge emphasis on guys being able to play lots of positions, and on having a good glove rather than a good bat. Personally, I think it’s a big mistake and one reason the AL is so much stronger now. It’s also a reason the Cards are outperforming expectations this year, because they’ve got some guys who can hit on their bench. Bench players end up hitting more than they do fielding in comparison to starters—remember when Abe Nunez was the Pirates’ top PH for 4 of 5 years? He was so bad at it that he was barely better than having the pitcher hit, but the Pirates never caught on. I’m hoping the current regime will figure it out. Gomez, for instance, could just as easily been replaced by somebody with a better bat, since it turned out he couldn’t play the middle infield any more. (And, yeah, I realize he’s hitting .288, but his OPS is a crappy .670 since he has zero power and doesn’t walk much. I think Negrych will be able to do better than that.)

by WTM on Aug 26, 2008 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs