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Brignac Adjusting To Change

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By MARC LANCASTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 26, 2008

Updated: 02/25/2008 11:45 pm

ST. PETERSBURG - Reid Brignac's numbers were down across the board last season, but the news wasn't all bad.

While the Rays' projected shortstop of the future was disappointed his production at the plate dropped off dramatically from a stellar 2006 campaign, he may have accelerated his path to the majors by making a breakthrough in the field that helped him cut down on errors late in the season.

Beginning in spring training last year, the Rays set about to revamp Brignac's throwing motion. A tall, rangy shortstop whose build recalls Cal Ripken Jr., Brignac was in the habit of delivering his throws straight over the top. That's what you want from an outfielder, which Brignac was in high school until his senior season, but not ideal for an infielder.

Rays minor-league field coordinator Jim Hoff and Montgomery Biscuits coach Hector Torres, who was primarily a middle infielder during his nine seasons in the majors, helped break down Brignac's mechanics and put them back together, persuading him to bring his arm slot down and use his wrist and forearm to propel the ball.

Getting the 22-year-old's throwing in line proved to be the missing piece - "the one thing that needed to improve," in Hoff's view. Brignac was a willing pupil.

"You can't teach hands or anything like that, but they did a great job of getting me where I needed to be to be successful," Brignac said. "You can either take that and run with it or you can try and do your own thing, and nine times out of 10, if you listen to the advice that has been given to you and the coaching that has gone on and run with it, you learn a lot. You get better."

Brignac certainly did. He had committed 19 errors, most of them with his arm rather than his glove, in his first 90 games for the Biscuits. He committed only three more miscues in his final 43 games.

"He did a wonderful job of adjusting, to the point where it's a non-issue in my mind," Hoff said.

That's a meaningful step for Brignac, whose defense has lagged behind his offense in four minor-league seasons. He made 11 errors in 28 games in his pro debut in 2004 and followed it up by committing 31 errors in 2005 (127 games) and 32 in 2006 (128 games).

A couple more years like that and Brignac might have faced being uprooted from his preferred position if he wanted to continue his progress through the minors.

"There were questions since I got drafted if I could play shortstop," he said. "There was talk about moving me to third, maybe the outfield. But I really wanted to prove I could play shortstop because it was the first position I ever played, I've grown up playing shortstop - I just love it. I really wanted to show that I can play shortstop."

Last year's work showed the Rays plenty about Brignac's determination to improve, if nothing else. The organization already considers his intangibles to be off the charts and no one saw cause for concern when his batting average dipped from .321 to .260 last season, thanks mainly to a rough two-month stretch over the summer. He cut down on strikeouts and increased his walk total last season, and he isn't finished with his to-do list in the field.

"I think I've still got a lot more to improve on, but I'm looking forward to it, because every day that I take groundballs I'm just having complete enjoyment the whole time," he said. "Playing defense has always been my favorite thing to do."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be

reached at (813) 259-7227

or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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