VICTOR NGOEPE, SHORTSTOP
|
Pronounced: en-GO-pay Born: February 9, 1998 Height: 5′ 8″ Weight: 150 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: International free agent, 2016 Country: South Africa Agent: N/A |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
Ngoepe is the younger brother of Gift Ngoepe. He played for South Africa in the eighteen-and-under World Cup and attended the African Elite Camp, along with another Pirates’ signee, Vince Deyzel. Victor is smaller than his brother, with good quickness and athleticism. He’s a contact hitter who isn’t likely to hit for much power.
2016 Ngoepe was the primary shortstop in the GCL. He showed good range but had trouble with errors, committing 20. He didn’t hit much and struck out in more than a quarter of his ABs. 2017 Except for one game with Bristol, Ngoepe spent the season back in the GCL. With Rodolfo Castro playing short some of the time, Ngoepe spent about a third of his time at second. He cut down on the errors while hitting almost exactly the same as in 2016. 2018 The Pirates sent Ngoepe to Bristol, where he was the regular shortstop. He showed natural ability for the position, although he was a little erratic and committed 19 errors. He did very little at the plate. 2019 Ngoepe spent most of the season at West Virginia as a middle infield backup, dividing his time evenly between second and short. He continued to show impressive range in the field and cut down sharply on the errors. His hitting remained about the same. He got some brief time at Greensboro at the end of the year. Ngoepe hasn’t shown much with the bat, but his glove makes him a useful backup. |
CONTRACT INFORMATION
|
2020: Minor League Contract |
PLAYER INFORMATION
|
Signing Bonus: N/A MiLB Debut: 2016 MLB Debut: N/A MiLB FA Eligible: 2022 MLB FA Eligible: N/A Rule 5 Eligible: 2020 Added to 40-Man: N/A Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
TRANSACTIONS
|
January 13, 2016: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent. |