PHILLIES: Domonic Brown Promotion

Here is the news you all have been waiting to hear!

DOMONIC BROWN HAS BEEN PROMOTED FROM DOUBLE-A READING…To Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

A little anti-climatic don’t you think?

Sure, there might be some dissipointment for Brown and some Philadelphia fans that the promotion wasn’t directly to the City of Brotherly love, and that is somewhat warranted.

The Phillies #1 overall prospect has been absolutely been tearing the cover off the ball this season with Reading, and was close to approaching the status of Jason Heyward and Mike Stanton as being a top prospect who has the ability to bypass a level in the minor leagues but is still able to perform at a high major league level. While that may be the case, keep in mind though, Heyward and Stanton were both top 100 selections in their respective drafts, while Brown was signed as a 20th rounder who was unsure if he was even going to continue his baseball career just a couple years ago (ended up deciding against a football scholarship to the University of Miami).

Patience guys, patience.

For the Phillies though, as much discussion as there has been about Brown supplanting the aging and, for the most part, struggling Raul Ibanez in the starting lineup, this is still THE CORRECT MOVE.

Yes, I said it, the Phillies made the right choice here.

Next Stop: Triple-A

Sure, bringing Brown up would sure give a certain buzz to a team that has been arguably lacking a certain fire for the last six weeks. I’m not disputing that. But, if you think that Brown, without facing any Triple-A pitching, is going to go out there and hit higher than .250, and hit for more power and have better plate discipline than Ibanez out of the sixth spot in the lineup, you are out of your mind. Obviously, you can make the whole Jason Heyward and Mike Stanton argument, but know that they are two select cases. If you look at the rest of the outfielders in baseball, how many players do you see who succeeded right away after being called up to big leagues, while skipping a level of the minor leagues in the process.

Not very many.

So, to ultimately describe my mindset on this issue, I am going to use a simple cliche.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

The Phillies have won seven out of their last ten games, and have averaged over seven runs a game in their past six contest.  While there is no doubt that Jimmy Rollins is a big reason for this, being that he is is the catalyst of the lineup, he is not one of the five “everyday” players who are surging, hitting over .300 in this recent span. In fact, those players are Placido Polanco, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and last but not least, RAUL IBANEZ. Let me be clear. There is no reason to put a player, with the contract that Ibanez has (due 11.5 million next year), squarely on the bench to satisfy the buzz of a 22 -year old rookie, especially if there is really no reason for that change.

With that said, even though this recent hot stretch may have bought Ibanez and the rest of the Phillies organization some time, they should certainly keep this move in the back of their minds.

That is, with Domonic Brown at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, will be playing his ball that much closer to Citizens Bank Park, waiting for THE promotion that not only will most likely be his last, but also his most important.