Brown optioned to triple-A
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Brown optioned to triple-A
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
The addition of Hunter Pence means a new team and position for top prospect Domonic Brown.
Brown is a Lehigh Valley IronPig, having been optioned by the Phillies to make space for Pence. He's also now a left fielder, the place where his immediate future in this organization lies.
Ruben Amaro Jr. said he views Pence as a right fielder, meaning Brown must switch sides of the field in preparation for 2012. Raul Ibanez is a free agent. The Phillies outfield will be Brown, Shane Victorino and Pence -- barring injury, of course.
It will be among the top outfields in the National League, if everything goes according to plan. That plan involves Brown improving his defensive abilities.
Offensively, Brown's .782 OPS is superior to Ibanez's numbers. But it's clear Charlie Manuel has little confidence currently in his 23-year-old outfielder.
It's not that Brown cannot be a good defender because numerous talent evaluators think he has enough athleticism and desire to improve. Learning on the job during a pennant race for a team with championship aspirations was not perferable. More than a few Phillies people were most disappointed at Brown's tentativeness in the field. The only thing to cure that is success, and the hope is that happens in the minors.
The International League season ends Sept. 5 and the IronPigs have a shot at postseason play. Brown will be back once rosters expand in September, with the hopes that a month of regular at-bats in the minors has restored confidence.
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i know brown is young but he should look better in the field period..when you're good you're good. he shouldnt look lost judging balls hit to him. he can only get better. go phillies.— phillysportsnut- Righty,
Yours might be the best post I've ever read on this site. lol— microfud - Comment removed.
- Dom Brown...Blah, Blah, Blah. You guys all wanted a right hand hitting big league outfielder who was able to play the game. You got one now!!! Let Dom go down and learn to catch the ball. Will he improve? Of Course, but NEVER enough to be a major force for the Phillies. If this guy is as good as the media says he is, why aren't teams beating down the RAJ's doors to get him. The front offices in most big league clubs must know something that is escaping us here in Philly!— billroc35
- Because he was said to be untouchable. With your logic that means Worley (who was called untouchable) is nothing too because teams weren't beating down the door for him either. The Mets wanted Brown and so did the Astros to use him to bring in more prospects. We don't know the details as to why Brown ended up not going to Houston in the end other than that RAJ was able to hold onto the guy HE wanted to hold onto. — SFPhillyphan
- The Ibanez bashing here is so wrong and so clearly a product of a lack of knowledge regarding the game. The guy has 20 doubles, 14 home runs and 55 RBI's which ranks him second on the team in all three categories.
The guy is a classy individual that plays the game the right way. I hope he can finally taste the champagne of a World Series victory. I also hope that if he retires the Phillies find a job for him to keep him in the organization.— DennisAtwell 
This is a good move for the Phils and DB. Barring the injury, and annoying hitting coach disaster, AAA will get him back the confidence and pressure release he needs.— NRGjunk- I agree.. Raul is a class act and only the ignorant few found seats on the Bandwagon.— NRGjunk
- As I noted away back when he was injured, I thought another year with the Iron Pigs would be best for Dom Brown. Now, I'm not sure. He has actually been hitting better of late. He will be back, I suspect, as I would suspect Raul Ibañez won't be back next year. Of course RAJ has been doing well and he'll make the decisions!— BEMiller
- As I noted away back when he was injured, I thought another year with the Iron Pigs would be best for Dom Brown. Now, I'm not sure. He has actually been hitting better of late. He will be back, I suspect, as I would suspect Raul Ibañez won't be back next year. Of course RAJ has been doing well and he'll make the decisions!— BEMiller
- Mayberry deserves a shot at starting in left field. He has been handling the bat very well lately, and he should be spelling Ibanez against lefthanders more often.
- SFPhillyphan: And you know about the intense interest in Brown by NY and Houston, HOW!!!! Amazing how the media hype creeps into opinions of the fan faithful. There are How many teams out therre??? Who else's knuckle prints will we find on the door? Sometimes a player is touted as "untouchable' for no other reason than to inflate their value when they go on the block! Get real! Worley has REAL potential and may one day win the CY!— billroc35
- billroc35: you know how uninterested the rest of the league is in Brown HOW?!!!!
None of us know who called about Brown or anyone else for that matter.
You somehow know Worley has real potential and that Brown does not....How?! Worley was not highly touted before this year, could be a fluke or could be real.
Only thing I do know is we all have our own opinions of Brown and the rest but none of us know what the pros know.— byzeil - Brown going back to the minors is a good thing. He will work even harder to get back. The writing is on the wall for Ibanez, He is almost done in Philly.— eaglesman1
