Domonic Brown: the Phillies baseball drama.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder, Domonic Brown.

        Well it's that time again, the Phillies are giving Domonic Brown another shot at the big leagues. The player deemed untouchable by Ruben Amaro Jr. in the Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Hunter Pence trades, is looking to play his way in to a starting role for the 2013 Phillies. Philadelphia fans have seen this drama before, this is Brown's third trip the the Major Leagues, and he hasn't had much success. However, so far in 2012, he's had his most productive year. Domonic Brown was selected in the 20th round of the 2006 MLB draft out of high school. The only reason he fell so low was because Brown had planned to attend the University of Miami to play wide receiver, but the Phillies offered him a $200,000 signing bonus to choose baseball instead. That right there shows you a hint of the type of athleticism Brown has. Brown has been described as a 5-tool player, meaning he excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, baserunning skills and speed, throwing ability, and fielding abilities. Brown was #15 on the 2010 Baseball America top prospects list.

        The 25-year-old Brown has fought his way through a variety of injuries. After recovering from a broken bone last season, he was affected by a knee injury this year while playing for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He's shown a slight limp, but seems to be okay. Standing tall and lanky at 6'5" and 200lbs, let's hope he isn't fragile. People should make note that Brown is a Scott Boras' client, however he isn't arbitration eligible until 2014 and can't become a free agent until 2017. The Phillies need to see development out of Brown this season to build more trust in him. As far as next season, he simply needs to put up steady offensive numbers, while playing in at least 140 games, to meet reasonable expectations. Doing so would fill one of the team's positional holes and likely answer the six spot in the lineup. I believe that the minor league experience Brown gained working under Iron Pigs' manager Ryne Sandberg has helped to advance his development. He isn't flailing at every pitch and is visibly thinking through his at bats as they occur. In other words, he's carrying out a plan when he's standing at the plate. The numbers show, he has only 9 strikeouts to go along with his 9 walks in 78 at-bats this season. Maintaining a 1/1 K-BB ratio would be huge for this team. He still has some work to do on the bases, but also looks much calmer in that area of his game as well. The organizational decision that allowed Brown to spend time at all three outfield positions in the minor leagues this season forced him to see the ball from three different fielding angles. If he proves that he can handle right field, which has been his primary position, I would let him stay there. Otherwise, a move to left field shouldn't be a problem.

        So far this season, Brown has been exceptionally good. He's maintained an average batting average, and has been OK in the field. However, after collecting just three extra-base hits and no home runs in his first 18 games this season, Brown is batting .467 (7-for-15) with a home run, three doubles and seven RBIs in his last four games. Speaking of recent games, Brown also showed off his talent in right field. In last night's game against the Reds, he laid out for a full-extension, diving, inning-ending catch in the second inning. Two innings later, with Jay Bruce standing on third base ready to tag up on a fly ball with one out, Brown tracked down a fly ball and unleashed a frozen rope to catcher Brian Schneider at home plate to complete a highlight reel-worthy double play. (Highlights: HERE) Brown's biggest strength as a prospect was his arm strength and accuracy. If he can round-out and make his reaction time better, as well as his fundamentals, he should develop in to a heck of an outfielder. So far this season he has six outfield assists, and his first career double play, and has yet to make an error. One of Brown's biggest struggles is hitting against left-handed pitching. He's hitting .167 (3-18) against lefties in 2012, and .206 (13-63) in his short MLB career. Charlie Manuel needs to let him play this season out, every game. That's including tough left-handed pitchers, Brown will never get better against them on the bench. The other thing that bothers me is his timing on hitting fastballs. He's hitting .237 on fastballs, and .276 on changeups (.500 against lefties), which shows that he's having trouble catching up the the fastballs. I do like that he's hitting .316 against curveballs from right-handing pitchers. That's all things that batting coach Greg Gross and 'hitting guru' Manager Charlie Manuel need to work with Domonic Brown.

        As long as Brown is healthy, he will be in the Phillies' starting lineup on opening day next spring.
I don't know if he will ever become an impact player, or if he will be able to maintain his full-time role. But, it's obvious that a lot of time has been spent helping him to renew his mental approach. He's hitting .282, with a .761 OPS (on base plus slugging percentage), and I think that he will do better over a longer stretch of time as a result of good coaching. Those who thought that his major league career would never take off haven't been proven wrong yet. Those who support him haven't rushed out to buy Brown's jersey yet either. Unless he's traded in the offseason, every Phillies' fan should have plenty of time to see how this baseball drama plays out.

Johnny Drama, from the HBO show Entourage.