Domonic Brown

This article is about the baseball player. For the singer, see Dominic Brown.

Domonic Brown
Brown batting in 2011
Philadelphia Phillies — No. 9
Left Fielder
Born: September 3, 1987 (1987-09-03) (age 24) Zephyrhills, Florida
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 28, 2010 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Career statistics (through 2011)
Batting average	.236
Home runs	7
Runs batted in	32
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (2010–present)

Domonic Larun Brown (born September 3, 1987 in Zephyrhills, Florida) is an outfielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Brown was named the Phillies' top prospect in 2009^[1] and the top prospect in all of Major League Baseball in 2010 by Baseball America,^[2] and has been described as a five-tool player.^[3] He is officially listed as standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighing 200 pounds (91 kg).^[4]

Baseball career

Draft

Brown was selected by the Phillies in the 20th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft out of Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia.^[5] Since he moved to the Atlanta area from Florida, Brown had "fallen off some teams' radars" prior to the draft.^[6] He participated in a private batting session with Phillies representatives at a local park, and after making one adjustment to his swing, scouting director Marti Wolever "'couldn't believe what [they] were seeing'".^[6] Brown planned to attend the University of Miami to play wide receiver for the Hurricanes, but the Phillies offered him a $200,000 signing bonus to choose baseball instead.^[6]

Minor leagues

Brown during a game in 2010

2006–2007

After the draft, Brown was assigned to the Phillies' Gulf Coast League (GCL) affiliate, where he batted .214 and collected one home run, seven runs batted in (RBI), and thirteen stolen bases—which tied him for the team lead with Adrian Cardenas—during the 2006 season.^[7] For 2007, he earned a promotion to the Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York – Penn League. He played in 74 games with Williamsport, batting in 39 runs and collecting 21 extra-base hits. His 27 walks were second on the team, and his .295 batting average was the team's best among players with more than 10 appearances. On defense, he played in the most games for the team in both center field and right field.^[8] His performance allowed him a late promotion to the advanced-A Clearwater Threshers, where he batted .444 with one home run and seven RBI in eleven plate appearances.^[9]

2008–2009

In 2008, Brown played the entire season with the Phillies' A-level affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws. In 591 plate appearances (second on the team), Brown collected a .291 batting average, 54 RBI, 23 doubles, and 9 home runs. He played 69 games in center field and 59 in right, amassing 208 putouts, 12 outfield assists, and participating in 4 double plays.^[10] Before the 2009 season, Baseball America ranked Brown the 48th-best prospect in the country,^[4] as well as the top prospect in the Phillies' farm system.^[1] He played at three levels during the 2009 season, spending most of the season with Clearwater. He batted .303 for the Threshers, notching 12 doubles, 11 home runs, and 44 RBI in 66 games played. His batting average was tied for second-highest on the team, and his 11 home runs were tied for the third-highest total. He played in 65 of his 66 games in right field, making nine assists and five errors.^[11] After promotion to the double-A Reading Phillies, Brown batted .279 with 20 RBI and 8 stolen bases; he also hit three home runs and four triples (tied for the team lead).^[12] Including a short stint with the GCL Phillies, Brown accumulated a .299 batting average for the year, along with a .377 on-base percentage and a .504 slugging percentage. His 14 home runs were the most in a single season in his minor league career to that point, as were his 44 extra-base hits.^[4] After the season, Brown's name was included in trade rumors related to pitcher Roy Halladay; however, the Phillies refused to part with him, including outfield prospect Michael Taylor instead.^[13]

2010

During 2010 spring training, Brown converses with third base coach Sam Perlozzo.

Spring Training

Brown was invited to the major league camp for spring training in 2010,^[6] during which MLB.com, Major League Baseball's official website, ranked him the 14th-best prospect in the minor leagues.^[14] In a game against the Tigers, he hit two home runs—one against Justin Verlander^[15]—and added a bases-loaded infield single to collect a third RBI.^[16] Of his home run against Verlander, shortstop Jimmy Rollins said, "That was legit. Big league stuff. (Phillies manager Charlie Manuel) [sic] was there that morning trying to teach him how to get to his power."^[6] First baseman Ryan Howard nicknamed Brown the "Total Package", noting that "I've seen him take batting practice" and that "[he's] got pop to all fields".^[17] The game was his last in major league camp, as he was sent down after its completion.^[15]

Regular season

Though it was speculated that he would begin the year with the triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs,^[16] he was assigned to Reading for the start of the 2010 season, where he batted .333 in his first seven games.^[4] He drove in one of two runs for the double-A club on an RBI triple to back Philippe Aumont's no-hit bid on April 25.^[18] He was promoted to the IronPigs on June 25, after he batted .318 with 16 doubles, 3 triples, 15 homers, 47 RBI, and 12 stolen bases in 65 games. Chuck LaMar, the Phillies' assistant general manager, said that Brown "is just now starting to scratch the surface on his ceiling as a potential Major League player", praising his hand–eye coordination and his power.^[19] He batted .405 in his first 12 games in Triple-A, hitting four home runs and batting in eleven.^[20] At midseason, Brown was selected to represent the United States in the 2010 All-Star Futures Game.^[21] He started for the U.S. team, but left in the first inning after experiencing tightness in his hamstring muscle running from the batter's box on an infield single. Brown was expected to return to the Lehigh Valley lineup after the All-Star break.^[22] Through July 27, he batted .327 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI between Reading and Lehigh Valley.^[23]

Brown during 2010 spring training

Major leagues

Brown was called up to the Phillies on July 28, 2010 after Shane Victorino was placed on the disabled list. He made his debut that night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, playing right field and batting sixth.^[24] He hit an RBI double in his first at-bat, scoring Jayson Werth, and scored his first run on a fielder's choice by Wilson Valdez. He notched his second hit with a single in his third at-bat, scoring again on a double by Carlos Ruiz. He batted in Raúl Ibáñez with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning for his second career RBI, finishing with two hits in three official at-bats. Brown received a standing ovation from the crowd prior to his first plate appearance; he later said that the experience "was great" and that he "wasn't thinking about that at all".^[2] On August 10, Brown hit his first home run in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Brown was sent down to AAA Lehigh Valley on July 29, 2011 to open a roster spot for Hunter Pence.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Manuel, John (January 6, 2009). "Philadelphia Phillies: Top 10 Prospects". Baseball America. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2009/267393.html. Retrieved March 29, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Jasner, Andy (July 28, 2010). "Brown's debut with Phillies earns cheers". Phillies.MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100728&content_id=12719582&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi. Retrieved July 29, 2010. 
3. ^ Winston, Lisa (March 29, 2010). "Phillies' 10 prospects to watch in 2010". Phillies.MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100323&content_id=8882026&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi. Retrieved March 29, 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Domonic Brown Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=brown-001dom. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
5. ^ "20th Round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=2006&draft_round=20&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} Passan, Jeff (April 15, 2010). "Even perceived slights can harm Robinson’s legacy". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=At48dTMF57SSFcTTnwh5mt05nYcB?slug=jp-jackie041410. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
7. ^ "2006 GCL Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=15177. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
8. ^ "2007 Williamsport Crosscutters Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=37329. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
9. ^ "2007 Clearwater Threshers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=15178. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
10. ^ "2008 Lakewood Blue Claws Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=39891. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
11. ^ "2009 Clearwater Threshers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=41244. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
12. ^ "2009 Reading Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=41237. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
13. ^ Stark, Jayson (December 15, 2009). "Sources: Halladay, Lee deal close". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4742072. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
14. ^ Zolecki, Todd (February 25, 2010). "Halladay vs. prospect: 'Pretty nasty'". Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100225&content_id=8137244&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. Retrieved April 18, 2010. 
15. ^ ^{a b} Calcaterra, Craig (March 17, 2010). "Domonic Brown impresses, departs". Hardball Talk. MSNBC. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/domonic-brown-impresses-departs.html.php. Retrieved April 15, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
16. ^ ^{a b} "Early action: Downtown Domonic Brown; Jason Heyward moves up". USA Today. March 16, 2010. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/03/early-action-downtown-domonic-brown-justin-heyward-moves-up/1. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
17. ^ Murphy, David (March 16, 2010). "Brown, "The Total Package," homers twice". Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies/Brown_The_Total_Package_homers_twice.html. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
18. ^ "Aumont fires six no-hit innings". Minor League Baseball. April 25, 2010. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100425&content_id=9568100&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp. Retrieved April 26, 2010. 
19. ^ Zolecki, Todd; Schonbrun, Zach (June 25, 2010). "Brown earns a promotion to Triple-A". Phillies.MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100625&content_id=11570842&notebook_id=11570844&vkey=notebook_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi. Retrieved June 26, 2010. 
20. ^ Zolecki, Todd (July 7, 2010). "Amaro mulling moves before Trade Deadline". Phillies.MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100706&content_id=11996504&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi. Retrieved July 7, 2010. 
21. ^ "2010 All-Star Game: Futures Game rosters (US)". Major League Baseball. July 11, 2010. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2010/roster_futures_us.jsp. Retrieved July 11, 2010. 
22. ^ Zolecki, Todd (July 11, 2010). "Brown makes mark but leaves game". Phillies.MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100711&content_id=12208532&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi. Retrieved July 12, 2010. 
23. ^ Zolecki, Todd (July 28, 2010). "Brown promoted as Victorino heads to DL". Phillies.MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100728&content_id=12719582&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi. Retrieved July 28, 2010. 
24. ^ Murphy, David (July 28, 2010). "Victorino to DL; Brown promoted". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5rZLbfsSm. Retrieved July 28, 2010. 

Further reading

• Cooney, Kevin (July 5, 2010). "Sky's the limit". Bucks County Courier Times (Calkins Media Inc.). http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/124/2010/july/05/skys-the-limit-1.html. Retrieved July 5, 2010. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Persondata
Name	Brown, Dominic
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 3, 1987
Place of birth	Zephyrhills, Florida
Date of death
Place of death