Victor Ngoepe

Tlou Victor Ngoepe

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 150 lb.

• Born February 9, 1998 in Johannesburg South Africa

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Victor Ngoepe has played in the minors; he is the brother of Gift Ngoepe, the first African-born major leaguer.

Victor hit .200/.226/.267 for South Africa in the 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup, fielding .900. He tied for 6th in errors (4). He was signed by Pittsburgh Pirates scout Tom Gillespie in January 2016, when his brother was in AAA in the Pirates chain. He hit .219/.302/.272 for the 2016 GCL Pirates and fielded .912 as their main shortstop. He split 2017 between the GCL Pirates (.235/.305/.285 in 51 G; .941 FLD%) and Bristol Pirates (0 for 3, BB).

In 2018, he hit .223/.299/.275 and fielded .929. He led Appalachian League shortstops in assists (171), putouts (78), errors (19) and double plays (46). He saw limited time in 2019 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers (2 for 20) and West Virginia Black Bears (.242/.320/.308 in 28 G). Pittsburgh released him at season's end. He had hit .223/.299/.275 with 89 runs in 186 games in the minors, fielding .930 at SS and .951 at 2B.

Ngoepe joined his brother on South Africa's announced roster for the 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers before the event was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He did make South Africa's squad for the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, starting at second base and hitting 9th in their opener versus Spain. His first time up, against Ronald Medrano, he laid down a sacrifice bunt. He drove in South Africa's first run, grounding off Daniel Álvarez to score Tyrone Milne. He finished the event 1-for-4 with two walks and a RBI, his hit being a double off former major leaguer Rhiner Cruz. He was third on South Africa in OBP, behind Dayle Feldtman and Milne, and third in OPS behind the same two. He tied Feldtman and Benjamin Smith for the team lead with two runs.