This one kind of got lost in the shuffle last night so I thought I'd add it to this little dog-and-pony show, too. Here's the original link back to the main CSN site. It should be noted that the Phillies have two excellent outfielder prospects in Dom Brown and Michael Taylor. About Taylor, Brown said: "Michael Taylor... Oh my God!" That was a compliment.
READING, Pa. – When he was told Clearwater manager Ernie Whitt wanted to see him last week, Domonic Brown was afraid the rumors were true. Rumored to be one of the key pieces in the deal to acquire Roy Halladay, a meeting with the manager hours before a ballgame is never a good sign.
Except for this time.
Whitt wanted to see his star right fielder so he could tell him he wasn’t going to be playing for Single-A Clearwater any more. Instead it was time for the 21-year-old Brown to head to Reading, Pa. It was time for a promotion.
“I want to be a Phillie,” Brown said.
So far the jump in class to Double-A has been a pretty good one for Brown. To start with Reading’s PR guru Rob Hackash informed everyone that Brown’s name had been misspelled pretty much his entire life. It’s “Domonic,” not “Dominic.” Brown would have corrected everyone but he is too polite.
Nevertheless, Brown appears to be on the way to making everyone know his name with the way he’s been playing ball this season. Though he missed some time with a broken thumb, he still rated in the top of the Florida State League with a .303 batting average, 11 homers, 386 on-base percentage, .517 slugging percentage and .903 OPS. He did all of that in just 66 games.
In the Eastern League, the lefty Brown turned heads on Tuesday night with a throw from right field to third base that drew comparisons to Vladimir Guerrero. Wednesday night, with a record-breaking crowd at FirstEnergy Stadium to see Pedro Martinez, Brown hit a 426-foot (-ish) home run that completely left the confines of the ball park in right field and conjured thoughts of Darryl Strawberry.
According the Reading Phillies, the ball cleared the roof of the park, hit the center line of Centre Avenue and bounced up against a wall of the nearby Cindy Rowe Auto Glass shop.
“He’s ridiculous,” said former Phillies starter and Reading pitcher Scott Mathieson of his teammate Brown. “He’s one of the best outfielders I’ve ever seen.”
Better yet, Brown launched his blast with general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and his top scout Charley Kerfeld in the ballpark. That’s pretty good for a 20th round draft pick.
Yeah, that’s right, Brown, the untouchable, was a 20th round pick in the 2006 draft for the Phillies. The reason he dropped nearly off the charts was because he had a scholarship offer to play wide receiver at the University of Miami (Fla.). Odder yet, Brown was listed as a left-handed pitcher when the Phillies took him in the 20th round.
Needless to say Brown hasn’t thrown a pitch since turning pro.
But for people who know Brown, there was no surprise that he was going to play baseball instead of football. His mother was a high school catcher and baseball was always the game of choice at the Brown household in Stone Mountain, Ga. Sure, Brown played all the sports by season during the school year, but, as he says, “that was just for fun.”
“Baseball was always my first love,” he said.
And since baseball is what he chose to concentrate on, Brown is aware of what he needs to do in order for Amaro and the Phils’ loyalty to pay off. To start with, Brown says he needs to improve his base running because he believes he can steal “30 or 40” bases a season. So far this season Brown swiped 15 bags and has a career high of 22 for Single-A Lakewood in 2008.
After that Brown wants to improve his discipline at the plate and pay more attention to the strike zone and the pitches he chases. That’s pretty heady stuff for a guy with a .370 on-base percentage in four pro seasons.
“I’ve been getting myself out a lot,” Brown says.
But more importantly, Brown just wants to play ball. He hopes to play in the Arizona Fall League this season and isn’t too keen on seeing his name on ESPN until the time is right.
“I just want to stay humble because there are no guarantees at this level,” Brown said.
Certainly Brown is right about that, but with the way he has been developing, the 21-year-old outfielder might be the closest thing.