Domonic Brown

Domonic Larun Brown (born September 3, 1987), is an American former professional baseball outfielder.

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.

Since he moved to the Atlanta area from Pasco High School in Dade City, Florida, Brown had "fallen off some teams' radars" prior to the draft.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Before the 2009 season, Baseball America ranked Brown the 48th-best prospect in the country, as well as the top prospect in the Phillies' farm system.

He played at three levels during the 2009 season, spending most of the season with Clearwater.

He batted .303/.386/.517 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.

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).

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.

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.

He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010, after being named the Phillies' top prospect in 2009 and the top prospect in all of MLB, in 2010 by Baseball America.

Brown was invited to Major League spring training in 2010, during which MLB.com, Major League Baseball's official website, ranked him the 14th-best prospect in the minor leagues.

In a game against the Tigers, he hit two home runs—one against Justin Verlander —and added a bases-loaded infield single to collect a third RBI.

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."

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".

The game was his last in Major League camp, as he was sent down after its completion.

Though it was speculated that he would begin the year with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he was assigned to Reading for the start of the 2010 season, where he batted .333 in his first seven games.

He drove in one of two runs for the Double-A club on an RBI triple to back Phillippe Aumont's no-hit bid on April 25.

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.

He batted .405 in his first 12 games in Triple-A, hitting four home runs and batting in eleven.

At midseason, Brown was selected to represent the United States in the 2010 All-Star Futures Game.

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.

Through July 27, he batted .327 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI between Reading and Lehigh Valley.

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.