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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See ya next year Domonic! Good luck at your new position!— bingbangbong- Let's hope the lad lives up to his potential, unlike most of us who post here.
— righty - How a guy could advance to the majors, be considered a top prospect, and not be able to play a lick in the outfield is beyond me.— blaqjaq
- it's not that complicated. the phillies put themselves in a bad position at the start of the year. they thought francisco could play every day. he couldn't. they then had to put brown in to play, he wasn't ready. the phillies did not do brown any favors. he was not ready for the big leagues. now he has to go down and get better. this will show what he is made of. — wobblie
- The Phillies didn't put themselves in this position. Brown's hand injury during spring training impacted how all of this played out because he was supposed to the starter in RF. Without the injury, he may have been able to get more comfortable in RF as he lost about 2 months. Who knows how much the injury affected him when he came back. — rudeman
- I am scared that Brown has all the things that the experts/scouts love. He is tall, has great stop watch speed, can hit fat batting practice pitches forever, he has a strong arm and he says all the right things in an interview. I just don't see a baseball player with any true baseball instincts. He just seems to be a guy that isn't playing but over thinking about what he is doing all the time. He has a nice eye at the plate and doesn't swing at balls (which is nice on this team). I think that very long loopy swing is going to limit him, especially with today's pitchers that change speed so well. A shorter more compact swing with no leg kick would serve him better. Considering the Phillies are contending for a WS, I think he needs at least 1 more FULL season down in the minors. — PhillyJimi
- If you see what is plainly in sight, Dom Brown is a raw talent that NEEDS seasoning. His approach to baseballs in the outfield is minor league. His hole in his swing is also minor league. He may become what the Phillies/experts think he can become, but that will ONLY happen with proper instruction, playing EVERY day, and working on short comings in AAA. Prodigy's sometimes don't make it ASAP. — drhoffman
- actually it happens all the time. Brown is 23 and a little raw. The Phillies envisioned him spending most of the year at AAA with Francisco playing right field. What they did not count on was how badly Ibanez would tank after going off PED's in 2009 and that Francisco's ceiling was that of a bench player. With the injuries to Victorino they had to give Brown a shot. It's too bad that they cannot just waive Ibanez and give Brown a shot in left in the bigs. — coloradoeagle
- Where does that leave John Mayberry Jr.? He shuld at least be given the opportunity to battle for the left field spot in spring training.— Russ
- as the fourth outfielder and back up first baseman. where he belongs. — wobblie
- Funny thing is... I'll warrant that Mayberry ends up being the better/more valuable talent of the two. But still, Bon Chance to Domonic!
— baworks 
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- You must have either turned off this year's Opening Day game when the Phillies were still down (like a typical fairweather fan), or you have no memory whatsoever. Mayberry Jr. is great to have as a pinch-hitter and backup. — mattesq
