Jeff Roy

JEFF ROY, CENTER FIELDER
Born: January 24, 1992
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 175
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Drafted: 18th Round, 539th Overall, 2013
How Acquired: Draft
College: Rhode Island
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Roy is a small, speedy center fielder who didn’t hit as well in his junior year as he did the two previous seasons.  What he did do was steal 30 bases in 30 attempts in 2013.  He has shown the ability to get on base at a decent clip, so should add value as a top of the order hitter.  In 2012, he reached base in 41 consecutive games.  Roy signed shortly after the draft.

2013
A-:  292/376/324, 185 AB, 4 2B, 1 3B, 25 BB, 52 K, 23-27 SB

Roy had a good debut for Jamestown, getting on base a lot and stealing bases with a high success rate.  He had a very high K rate — once every three and a half ABs — for a player with no power.  He had a .792 OPS against LHPs, compared to .664 against RHPs.  Roy split his time evenly between left and center, trading off with Harold Ramirez, before an injury ended his season in mid-August.

2014
A:  234/291/323, 158 AB, 7 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 12 BB, 48 K, 6-10 SB
A+:  233/311/256, 215 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 24 BB, 70 K, 18-30 SB

Roy opened the season as the regular center fielder at Bradenton.  In late June, he essentially traded places with Justin Maffei, moving down to West Virginia and, with Austin Meadows finally getting into action, mostly playing left.  As often happens with players with his profile, Roy’s game — good speed and a good walk rate, but an extremely high K rate and no power — didn’t translate well to the upper levels.  Pitchers at higher levels aren’t afraid to pound the strike zone against a hitter who’s not a power threat and it’s harder to get cheap hits as the defenses improve.  Roy’s average plummeted, his walk rate dropped a little, and he continued to whiff far too often.  He also didn’t use his speed efficiently on the bases.

2015
A:  255/331/302, 106 AB, 1 2B, 2 3B, 10 BB, 28 K, 13-15 SB
A+:  217/294/250, 60 AB, 2 2B, 5 BB, 12 K, 5-8 SB

Roy returned to West Virginia as a backup outfielder at the start of 2015, then moved up to Bradenton in late July when the Pirates promoted Barrett Barnes.  With three prospects ahead of him (Tito Polo, Jerrick Suiter and Michael Suchy) in low A, he didn’t get a great deal of playing time.  In low A he hit about the same as the year before, and he hit very little in his brief chances in high A.  He did cut his strikeout rate, but it was still high for a hitter with no power.

Roy figures to continue as a backup somewhere in the middle levels of the system.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2016: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2013
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2019
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2016
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 8, 2013: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th round, 539th overall pick; signed on June 12.