Meet Reid Brignac

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 4, 2008 11:23 AM EDT

These things seem to come in spurts, remember how Longoria/Niemann popped up within a few days of each other?

A scout told me Brignac projects as Stephen Drew with "More power, less OBP", something which makes my head hurt when you consider Drew's .295 OBP this season. He also said Brignac won't cost you any runs at shortstop but isn't necessarily above average when compared to other six holers.

PECOTA has Brignac at .238/.296/.405 this season, an OPS of .701 which puts him between supposed offensive juggernauts Julio Lugo and Derek Jeter, not too shabby for a 22 year old. The top comparisons are Brandon Phillips, Pokey Reese, and Kelly Johnson thrown in. Really all of his comparisons are all over the place, for every Carlos Beltran there's a Nic Jackson, and with a player this young it's really hard to judge his future.

Brignac would seemingly be able to stick at shortstop long term, but my question is will his bat hold up? His home/road splits favor Durham strongly, including a large jump in OBP which seems a bit odd. Brignac should get most of the playing time over Ben Zobrist for the next two weeks and could force his way into a starting job.

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Don't understand the Kelly Johnson comp.

As Johnson is a walks machine.

by GomesSweetGomes on Jul 4, 2008 11:48 AM EDT reply actions

What's the thinking behind this right now?

Are they shopping Zobrist and grooming Brignac? I figured we were still at least a year away from seeing Reid.

B Rad the Ray Fan
9 = 8

by BWoodrum on Jul 4, 2008 11:52 AM EDT reply actions

I also read in the St Pete Times

That BenZo will get the bulk of the playing time. If true (and what makes no sense) then we obviously aren’t showcasing Brignac. If we were he would be playing nearly full time either in the bigs or AAA. You can’t showcase someone that is on the pine.

by matthan on Jul 4, 2008 12:03 PM EDT reply actions

I really hope Zo doesn't get the bulk of the PT

He isn’t a bad option and I know his numbers may be better in the minors.

but I’ve seen a lot of baseball and Brignac wins the eye test and it isn’t even close. Zobrist isn’t bad but Brignac has a chance to be an all-star. He is mlb ready with the glove and all he has to be is decent with the bat to deserve to be the starter over Bartlett.

by Dbullsfan on Jul 4, 2008 2:02 PM EDT reply actions

Brignac starting and hitting 9th today.

by Dbullsfan on Jul 4, 2008 2:04 PM EDT reply actions

Only one thing to consider...

No matter what, this guy has skills that are going to improve.

He already has a MLB glove and OUTSTANDING footwork in the field.

He has an above average arm.

He has surprising pop.

Everything else, he can LEARN…. (laying off pitches, using the whole field, confidence, etc.)

If he gets off to a hot start, he might be here to stay… caution and good sense may say otherwise…

If you're not having fun, what are you having? There's already WAAAY too many serious moments in life.

by Manny Stiles on Jul 4, 2008 2:40 PM EDT reply actions

Everything else, he can LEARN…. (laying off pitches)

I know what you’re saying and it’s not an entirely fair comparison, but…. Carl Crawford says hello!

Longlorious.

by RATW on Jul 4, 2008 3:05 PM EDT reply actions

Tell Carl...

If he lets me borrow $10k I’ll gladly ghostwrite his biography!

mannystiles@aol.com =)

If you're not having fun, what are you having? There's already WAAAY too many serious moments in life.

by Manny Stiles on Jul 4, 2008 3:10 PM EDT reply actions

after all...

God knows that C.C. might be the only dude on this planet that yaps as much as I do!! =)

He is the coolest Leo I’ve ever met (somehow, that is a tremendous compliment)

If you're not having fun, what are you having? There's already WAAAY too many serious moments in life.

by Manny Stiles on Jul 4, 2008 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions

let's go Briggy

i still believe in him… what if he goes all Cal-league in his first week?? that’d be awesome

by daveh33 on Jul 4, 2008 3:41 PM EDT reply actions

I'm from Brignac's home town

I write for LSU over at AndTheValleyShook. I am from Gonzales, Louisiana, which is in the same parish as St. Amant, Louisiana. I used to work in Dixie League baseball out there, which is the “Little League” for the area. My dad was, a few years before Reid went there, the Assistant Principal of the high school Brignac graduated from.

I remember seeing Reid play when he was 10 years old. He was, of course, rather good.

By the way, the same league where I watched Reid Brignac play also had Ben Sheets, former MLBer Andy Sheets, former MLBer Kim Batiste, former high-round draft pick Brady Babin, and former AAA minor leaguer Jason Williams (who was the same age as me, and who I played against).

Interesting story: Ben Sheets wasn’t really that great of a player when he was a kid. He probably wasn’t one of the 5 best players in that small league. While everyone else peaked in high school, he kept developing and ended up where he is now.

It’s also the same area that produced #5 overall NFL draft pick Glenn Dorsey.

I’m of course, I’m rather interested in seeing how Brignac does.

Richard Pittman

by Richard Pittman on Jul 4, 2008 9:46 PM EDT reply actions

I thought he played a good shortstop tonight.

He turned a very nice DP in the first inning and made all the routine plays smoothly, showing a very accurate arm. And now he even has an OBP (.250) and a run scored.

by bobr on Jul 4, 2008 10:38 PM EDT reply actions