Saturday August 11th, 2012

Sam Evans: Only a couple of years ago, Domonic Brown was one of the top five prospects in all of baseball. His combination of tools and outstanding production made him appear to be primed to become a superstar. However, things haven’t gone as planned. Brown never got a full-season in the majors, and his numbers in the minors started to drop. Now in 2012, with Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino no longer in Philadelphia, Brown needs to prove he can produce at the major league level.

Before the 2009 season, Domonic Brown was viewed as the #48 prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America. Before the 2010 season, Brown had jumped to 15 in BA’s rankings. In 2010, after hitting .318/.391/.602 in sixty-five games at Double-A, Philadelphia promoted him to Triple-A, where he .346/.390/.562 in just twenty-eight games before getting called up to the majors. In the majors, Brown only got seventy plate appearances, thanks to the talented trio of Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth, and Victorino starting almost every day.

In Spring Training of 2011, everyone expected Domonic Brown to burst onto the scene as a star. Baseball America had him as their #4 prospect, and Brown was quickly becoming a household name among fantasy baseball owners across America. However, thanks to Victorino, Ibanez, and Hunter Pence, Brown still couldn’t get himself a starting job in Philly.

This season, after a disappointing start in Triple-A, no Phillie benefited more from the Victorino and Pence trades than Brown. Now, with those two gone, Charlie Manuel has made it clear that Dominic Brown is going to be starting everyday for the Phillies. So far, in just ten games, Brown has reached base in eight of those game.

One of the top reasons why Brown was once a top prospect is due to his tools. He has a 70 arm, and projects to be one of the better defending corner outfielders in baseball because of it. Brown doesn’t cover enough ground to be a solid center fielder, but the Phillies might have to try him there due to their current situation. Brown’s speed isn’t overwhelming, but most would still consider above-average.

In terms of what he can do at the plate in Philly, we don’t really know what to expect. The Phillies have messed with Brown’s swing a lot over the last couple years, but it might be in their best interest to leave his wing alone. Brown has tremendous bat speed, so that will hopefully translate into lots of line drives and some homers as well.

The Phillies future is very unclear, but one thing is for sure. This is Domonic Brown’s big chance. If he can prove he can be an everyday major leaguer, a Philadelphia team on the fence between contending and rebuilding is going to feel a lot better about their future in the N.L. East.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*) 

***Today’s feature was prepared by oSam Evans, Baseball Writer.  We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers.  You can also follow Sam on Twitter. (@RJA206)***

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