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2007 At the end of the 2005 season, Brignac was a six-foot-one, 185-pound shortstop. At the beginning of the 2006 season, he was six-foot-three and 200 pounds--and it all came from cleaning living and organic, BGH-free whole milk. We often talk about young prospects `growing into their bodies,` and Brignac`s a pretty good illustration of how much growth there is left in some of these kids. There`s a possibility that he`s grown himself right out of the shortstop position; even as a smaller guy, his range wasn`t terribly great, and it doesn`t figure to improve now that he has to haul more of himself around out there. But no matter, his bat looks good at any position. The good news about his added bulk is that it came with extra power, which helped him earn a late-season promotion to Double-A. The main flaw in his batting game is patience, but he`s one of those players for whom patience should develop later as pitchers start to respect his bat and throw him stuff he can`t drive. This is a small matter given just how good the overall picture is. 2006 The Old Regime`s 2nd-round draft pick in 2004, Brignac had a strong debut for a prep prospect, then put up a strong first full season in a tough hitting environment. If he can stay at short, he`ll have above-average power for the position, and though his swing and pitch selection need improvement, he`s starting from a good place given his age and inexperience. 2005 A high-schooler from Louisiana, Brignac led his team to the state championship and was supposedly a lock to go to LSU, but the Rays managed to pry him away ($795,000 was nicely persuasive). He didn't have any trouble at the plate in his first taste of pro ball, homering in his first game, hitting .378, displaying excellent (and un-Raylike) plate discipline and exceptional bat speed. There's a question about whether he'll be able to stay at short in the long term, but it doesn't cost the team anything to try to keep him there. He's expected to have little trouble if he does move to another position.
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