Domonic Brown heats up
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Domonic Brown heats up
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
As the Phillies stumbled Tuesday to another listless defeat that dropped them under .500 again, something was happening 70 miles north. Domonic Brown smashed two home runs and a double, threw a runner out from left field, and made a diving catch.
And that was only in the first four innings of triple-A Lehigh Valley's rout of the Gwinnett Braves.
Brown's bat is heating up; he's hitting .415 (17 for 41) in his last 10 games with four home runs and 13 runs scored. The 24-year-old's batting average had dipped to .231, but this streak has bumped it to .282. Fifteen months ago, he broke his right hamate bone, an injury that typically saps power for about a year.
"For me, he's the same Domonic," IronPigs manager Ryne Sandberg told reporters Tuesday following the game.
Of course, the "same Domonic" is a maddening player yet to realize his potential. One scout who watched Brown for the previous four days would agree.
"There's not much to love about his defense, but he has definitely swung it pretty well," said the scout, who requested anonymity to speak about another team's player. "I am still not 100 percent sold on the bat, but he has looked solid. Other scouts will say he looked better two years ago."
A lot has happened since then. The Phillies summoned Brown in 2010 and he dazzled in his debut. A injury stole playing time. He was recalled midseason, again, in 2011 and was ultimately supplanted as the starting right fielder by Hunter Pence. The Phillies moved him to left, and recently center for a week, before back to left. He spent most of this spring on the bench with injuries.
The outfield -- and his health -- remains his barrier to reaching the majors.
"His defense is somewhat a mystery to me," the scout said. "He seems so gifted athletically but he just doesn't break on the ball well."
He added: "The diving catch was a product of a bad jump. But the two bombs were impressive."
And therein lies the tantalizing talent of Brown.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
shipping Vic and Brown for relief help is a terrible idea... moving Brown anywhere is probably a bad idea since you'd be selling so low. let him figure it out on his own in minors and then either promote him or trade him then. trading him for some random rental reliever is a very bad idea... if you get a similarly talented player in a "change of scenery" type swap, i'd be OK with it... we did that a few years back in the golson-for-mayberry trade and that worked out (tho neither of those 2 were mega prospects like DB)— leeal02- @FansVoice....it's called ADHD.....the first year of PEDs testing in MLB 1.8% of all MLB players were on some sort of ADHD meds (stimulants) and granted waivers by MLB home offices for their usage, otherwise these players would have tested positive for stimulants and been suspended 50 games. Just 2-3 years later the number of MLB players with ADHD skyrocketed to 10.1%....you do the math. Ridiculous, isn't it? Oh lokk, a butterfly!......This ADHD is a real epidemic! Maybe what we're seeing are players who've run out of their meds? I agree with you, the boneheadedness on the field is at an all time high right now. Too many distractions, I think and the ADHD players can't handle it.....actually, I think it's hard to pay attention during the game and concentrate on the situation t hand when you have one eye on your 3rd base coach, another eye on the scoreboard to see just where the ball you hit for the triple landed, while thinking about how you're going to twitter your followers after the game to tell them how sweet it felt, facebook your mom about how you miss her cooking and remember to call your agent because he needs to phone in the refill for your meds, pick them up and drop them by the ballpark on his way home........— Mark1npt
- ps....as much as I'd hate seeing Brown's defense in LF, I grew up with Luzinski out there so what's the difference if Brown (man's up) and turns himself into an offensive force to be reckoned with like Luzinski did?— Mark1npt
- So you want to bench Hunter Pentz who is a proven success and on pace for 100 rbi's for Dom Brown?— tommazza
- Brown and Vic for relief help? Wow, a GG and AS and a former #1 prospect. Phew. I think you can get more than relief help for those two.— EL Zorro
- It's almost impossible to teach defense at this level. You can improve a little, like an infield turning the DP, hitting the cut off man, throwing to the right base, better angles and running routes, but when you are a bad defensive player with not much instincts and baseball smart, there is not much you can improve. He's an American League player, IMO.— EL Zorro
- Was a nice spark when he came up initially, lets see if it works again. How much worse can it be— phillyceltic
Comment removed.- Time is up on Mayberry too. It is clear— phillyceltic
- Move Victorino for Carlos Quinten. Both players are in contract years, but Victorino (from Hawaii) may like the West Coast. Brown is still a hitter and will play everyday for Philly next year. By obtaining Quinten, Mayberry Jr. can go to Center with Pense/Quinten in the corners. With Utley/Howard on the horizon, that would make for quite a scary lineup if/when healthy. Quinten also gives Philly an option if they choose not to resign Pense. While Quinten's defense is average, his bat will liven up a DOA offense. Gotta like that look. Rollins/Polanco/Utley/Howard/Pense/Quinten/Ruiz/Mayberry Jr./Pitcher. Now tha would put some fear into a pitcher's mind....almost resembling the line up from yesteryear with Werth/Ibanez or Burrell. Some really needed pop from both sides. If need be, throw in a young reliever to entice the Padres (Schwimmer or DeFratus or Aumont). Win win for both teams I'd say.— drhoffman
- Take the lineup card away from Charlie. He is no La Russa. Stabilize the everyday lineup. Brownie in left and Mayberry at first everyday. Get rid of the old timers other than off the bench!— Dull
- i'm pretty sure ADHD meds are depressants.... ADHD is attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, why would you give them stimulants?— nyphilliephan
- Might as well bring him up, he'll never have the complete game, but this team can no longer afford to let a bat rot in Allentown the way they're hitting at the big league level. If you bring him up and Utley and Howard are back in a few weeks , they will have an outside chance to contend. But I don't look at being 5 games out anymore as no big deal. Yeah, the team they had 4 years ago could have wiped out a deficit like that in a hurry, I'm not so sure this team does.— drbob1
- They do use stims - they work. Either the stim helps them focus - or - What's more likely is: The stim level gets their body to produce less of whatever makes them hyper -or - to produce a counteractive chemical - or - it sort of burns them out a bit which counters the usual spasiness. Sorry I don't have more / better info.— Warhound
- I believe the Phillies management and coaching staff must bear some responsibilty for messing up Dominic Brown.
You may remember when they brought him up last year, he started out hitting pretty good. He was showing some flashes of why everybody was so excited about.
Then he put up a bunch of strikeouts.
Immediately, the coaches said his swing needed to be altered.
Around this time, he misplayed a few balls in the outfield making errants throws.
The coaching staff stepped up again and decided he needed to be taught the ' correct way ' to track down balls hit to the outfield and to use a certain throwing motion to hold runners.
All this was being fed to him within a few weeks of him being called up. He was supposed to be able to incorporate this in his game immediately while playing at the Major League level. Pretty heady stuff.
What we got was a robotic like athlete with no confidence. Not too surprising he regressed rather than improved.
One question for Phillies coaching staff..........
If Dominic Brown's hitting and fielding needed to be significantly altered after he got here, what does this say about the quality of the coaching he received in the minors ? Did nobody down there notice any flaws ?
Another person has said here that it is unlikely that much improvement can be made to players that lack instintive defensive ability. In Dominic Brown's case, the best that may be hoped for is that, because of his superior speed, he will learn to compensate for his misjudgements.
I AM GLAD THE KID IS DOING WELL. I HOPE THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT GIVE UP ON HIM.
He certainly has the tools to be a success.— candidly
