Like us on Facebook here

Saturday, February.16,  2013

Brignac is known as more of a defensive specialist than anything. He has a Career 3 Slash Line of .227/.268/.586. The Shortstop/Second Baseman has to be extremely elated to be heading to hitter – friendly Coors Field. He is Arbitration Eligible in 2014.

By Lee White (Astros Correspondent)  Follow @Lee_White73

Since the Astros traded Jed Lowrie about a week ago, the Houston Astros have been looking at acquiring another shortstop. Reid Brignac, Rays shortstop, was on the Astros radar.

The Colorado Rockies acquired Infielder Reid Brignac from the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday in exchange for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Brignac bounced around between Triple-A and the Rays last season. He hit .095 in 16 games for the Tampa Bay Rays last season. The 27-year-old Brignac was a Second-Round Pick by the Rays in the Amateur Draft of 2004.

Reid Brignac Highlights:  Mature Lyrics So Parental Guidance is advised:

The only time ever that Brignac has received serious playing time was the 1st Half of the 2010 season. He hit for a 3 Slash Line of .265/.329/.684 in 189 AB.

Since the Astros traded Jed Lowrie, Houston’s starting Shortstop, there is a bit of a hole at Short. Marwin Gonzalez, Tyler Greene, and Jake Elmore are left to compete for the starting job.

Many Astros fans, including myself, thought the Astros might go after another Shortstop. So far, nothing. There were rumors flying around that the Astros might be in Brignac. They were, but it was nothing serious as we can see by Brignac being traded to the Rockies. With Brignac being traded for a PTBNL and cash considerations it seems that the Astros could have gotten Brignac. The Astros have the 4th best farm system, a PTBNL and cash would not have been a problem to lose for Brignac, who would have more than likely been the starting Shortstop in Houston.

Looking at his splits for his Career, Brignac hit for a .240 in his Lifetime Average at Tropicana Field, where he hit .214 on the road.  He has very little power (38 XBH in 671 AB) – and does not possess Stolen Base speed with only 8 swipes in 14 attempts.  The man from Louisiana also does not walk very much (29 BB), suggesting lack of plate discipline as he has Struckout 139 times in those same At-Bats.  However you have to treat these numbers with some understanding.  He never has had consistent playing time for a full season – so obviously that will affect ones timing at the plate.

His numbers have projected higher when he has played Second Base (.260 Avg in 53 Starts, contrast to his Shortstop Average of .217 in 184 Games.)  We all know if Tulowitzki is healthy, he will never see the field in that position.  Also Josh Rutledge  (.274/.306/775) is an offensive understudy of Tulowitzki at Short.  The Second Base Depth Chart is a little easier to crack with DJ LeMahieu and Jonathan Herrera potentially ahead of him for Colorado.  Guys that are not setting the world on fire, but still maybe ahead of Brignac offensively. 

Having said all of this,  the guy has still played Shortstop at the Major League Level for more than 162 Games, which is more than the Astros other Shortstops actively on their depth chart. This poses my question: Does Jeff Luhnow, the guy who traded a hobbled Shortstop and Fernando Rodriguez for 2 prospects AND Chris Carter, have something up his sleeve to get another Shortstop?

Brignac might find himself in some platoon situations wherever he plays – as he hit an anemic .162 vs LHP for his career as opposed to .239 vs RHP.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Astros Correspondent’ Lee White for preparing today’s featured article. Lee is currently a writer at strosbros.wordpress.com. He has been an Astros fan his whole life and has a deep knowledge about the team as a whole. Lee currently goes to college about an hour away from Houston.  Lee has attended countless games at Minute Maid Park.  Feel Free to follow Lee on Twitter and chat about the game of baseball.  Follow @Lee_White73

Please e-mail us at: mlbeports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback.  You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.  To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Like us on Facebook here