Negrych And Sues Given Year End Honors

The Pirates announced infielder Jim Negrych (pictured) as their Minor League Player of the Year and Jeff Sues as their Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the 2008 season. Both players were honored during a pregame ceremony at PNC Park prior to the Pirates game on Sunday.

Negrych hit a combined .359 (170-for-473) with five home runs, 72 RBIs and 87 runs scored in 129 games between Lynchburg and Double-A Altoona. The Pirates' sixth-round selection in the 2006 draft out of the University of Pittsburgh, finished ninth in all of Minor League baseball with his .359 average and tied for 10th overall with 41 doubles.

During his time with Lynchburg, Negrych shredded Carolina League pitching on his way to Mid-Season and Post-season All-Star selections. He won the CL batting title with a .370 clip and finished second in hits (143), tied for third in doubles (36) and second in slugging percentage (.508). The infielder was also labeled by Baseball America at the conclusion of the season as having the "Best Strike Zone Judgment" in the Carolina League. He earned a promotion from Lynchburg to Altoona at the end of July and hit .310 with the Curve in 25 games.

Sues, a fifth-round selection in 2005, also advanced from Lynchburg to Altoona this year. The 25-year-old right-hander posted a combined mark of 4-2 with three saves, a 3.22 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 37 appearances. In Lynchburg, the reliever had a 2.11 ERA.

Past Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year award winners make up four fifths of Pittsburgh's 2008 starting rotation: Ian Snell (2003), Zach Duke (2004), Paul Maholm (2005) and Tom Gorzelanny (2006). Current Pirates outfielder and former Hillcat Steve Pearce won the Pirates Minor League Player of the Year in 2007.