This season, the Phillies’ Domonic Brown is doing a lot…
By Chris Murray
When Phillies leftfielder Domonic Brown first came up from the minors in 2011, he was struggling in just about every aspect of the game and the sentiment among fans was that he would be a bust.
Despite being the best prospect in the Phillies organization and lacking in significant league experience, more than a few people called for the team to cut ties with Brown. But so far this season, Brown is making the most of his chance to play on a regular basis.
“You definitely can find your rhythm when you’re playing every day because that’s what I’m used to,” said Brown, who went 0-for-3 in the Phillies 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins. “I’m not used to coming off the bench. It’s been a blessing for Charlie to tell me I’m going to be in the lineup every day.”
Brown is starting to show the potential that the Phillies were raving about since the team selected him in the 20th round of the 2006 draft.
In his last nine games coming into Saturday’s game against the Marlins, Brown is batting .382 with two doubles, three homeruns and eight runs batted in over his last nine games. He is currently tied for second on the team in homeruns (six) and is third on the team in runs batted in with 15. Brown has also batted .353 with runners in scoring position.
“When the season started, he was working to hold his own,” said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. “I think right now you’re starting see that some of the at-bats he’s putting on that’s how he was doing it in the spring. He was very consistent in the spring. He showed his power, he showed his talent. We’re starting to see that and that’s good.”
Earlier this week against the San Francisco Giants, Brown hit a home run over the right field wall at AT&T Park and into the waters of the San Francisco Bay in what is known as McCovey Cove.
During spring training, Brown batted .356 with seven home runs and 17 runs batted in. Manuel said playing on a regular basis at the major league level and being around batting coaches like Wally Joyner has helped him as well.
“I think being around the game, learning about the major leagues and learning about himself,” Manuel said. “I think he talks a lot with our coaches, he’s relaxed and feels a lot better about himself.”
Of course, the name of the game for Brown will be consistency and doing it on a regular basis. That also means doing in the field as well. Since Brown misjudged a ball that turned a routine single into a triple in the Phillies home-opener versus the Kansas City Royals, he’s done a solid job playing the outfield.
For a team that already has sluggers like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, Manuel believes that Brown has the potential to hit a lot of home runs for the Phillies.
“I think he’s capable of hitting some. How many he hits, I’d like to let him play and see how many hits,” Manuel said. “(30 home runs) is not beyond the realm of possibility.”
We’ll have a quite few games to see if that all rings true.
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