Negrych hitting his way to majors

When a baseball player bats .359 in the major leagues, he’s considered a bona-fide star. When… When a baseball player bats .359 in the major leagues, he’s considered a bona-fide star. When one hits .359 in the minor leagues, he’s labeled a prospect. He’s noticed. Jim Negrych accomplished exactly that this season. Negrych, a Pitt alum, put up remarkable numbers in his third minor league season in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system. He spent most of the year with the high Class-A Lynchburg Hillcats before being promoted to the Altoona Curve in late July. The 23-year-old dominated Class-A, hitting .370 with 36 doubles, five home runs, 62 RBIs and 55 walks in 386 at-bats. He didn’t slow down much after moving up the organizational ladder. In only a month at AA Altoona, Negrych batted .310. All this grabbed the Pirates’ attention. After the successful year, the team sent Negrych to compete in the Hawaii Winter League, where he has already started the season. He joins a few other touted Pirates prospects, including the club’s top minor league shortstop, Brian Friday. ‘So far, it’s been really good. There are a bunch of really good players down here,’ said Negrych. ‘It’s just an opportunity to play an extra month out of the year.’ Along with San Francisco Giants farmhand Ben Copeland, Negrych looks to break Pitt’s major-league drought. The last former Panther to reach the majors was outfielder Jason Conti, who played in parts of five seasons from 2000-04. In fact, only five Pitt baseball alums have played in the majors. Negrych could be the sixth. The talent Negrych displayed both on and off the baseball field was evident when former Pitt assistant coach Dan Ninemire recruited him. ‘When I spent some time with Jimmy during his official visit to campus, I knew he was a winner,’ said Pitt coach Joe Jordano. ‘He had a tremendous amount of confidence, and I knew he was going to be a special player.’ Negrych hit like a special player for the Panthers. In three seasons at Pitt, he compiled a .374 average, 48 doubles, 34 home runs and 164 RBIs in 569 at-bats. Negrych said that he learned some crucial intangibles from the Pitt coaching staff. ‘I spent a lot of time with the hitting coach there, and he helped me out a lot offensively,’ said Negrych. ‘[I learned] how to approach the game and learn the little things about my swing I need to be consistent with. Coach Jordano helped me out with how I need to prepare, game in and game out, and forget about the bad stuff.’ The left-handed hitting Negrych attracted the attention of Pittsburgh scouts, who were able to watch him play locally. The Pirates ended up taking him in the sixth round of the 2006 MLB Draft after his junior season. ‘It felt good [being drafted by the Pirates],’ said Negrych. ‘I went to a lot of games there. I love it, it’s my favorite place to be after Buffalo. Just to be drafted by that team and knowing what they have in the organization, it’s a feeling that really can’t be expressed in words.’ Jordano was happy with Pittsburgh’s interest in his second baseman. ‘I was very pleased when the Pirates drafted Jimmy,’ said Jordano. ‘I was always perplexed why more of our guys had not been drafted by our hometown team. Being a life-long Pirate fan, it was great for me and Jimmy.’ Negrych, a second baseman by trade, played third base for much of 2008. But the organization plans to move him back to second base for the upcoming season. Negrych is one of only two upper-tier prospects the Pirates have at second base. The other, Shelby Ford, was drafted three rounds ahead of Negrych in 2006 and manned the position for Altoona this year. Ford, who has battled injuries throughout his minor-league career, might move up to AAA Indianapolis, which would place Negrych as Altoona’s starting second baseman. Regardless, Negrych is sure to be starting somewhere. ‘Right now, I’m playing a little more second base in Hawaii,’ said Negrych. ‘Being able to play third base is something to keep myself versatile to be able to play anywhere.’ Negrych almost immediately started at third base this year in Lynchburg. With his position set, his offensive production exploded. He never stopped hitting, hovering around .370 throughout the summer months. Despite the high average and number of doubles, the Pirates kept Negrych in Lynchburg, citing a need to improve on one more aspect of his game. That attribute is defense. ‘I have to try to get better all-around at defense,’ said Negrych. ‘Whether it’s at second base or third base, whether it’s my footwork or my hands or my throwing motion, I just have to clean up a lot of things.’ By the end of July, Negrych had nothing left to prove at Lynchburg. The Pirates promoted him to Altoona, where he played every day and continued to hit above .300. Negrych’s fine season placed him on numerous prospect watch lists for the Pirates. Many experts rate him among the franchise’s top-20 minor leaguers. A duplicate next year at Altoona could lead to a promotion to Indianapolis, or even Pittsburgh. He certainly has support from Jordano. ‘I believe Jimmy will need to improve himself defensively and possibly switch positions to make it,’ said Jordano. ‘I know his bat will play at the major league level. They just need to find a position for him. I have no doubt he will get there.’