Phillies batting coach thinks Brown's flaw is fixed

First in a series

 
WHEN GREG GROSS began poring over video of Domonic Brown's at-bats during the outfielder's 2-month stint with the Phillies at the end of last season, he immediately noticed something out of whack.

"A lot of times, it's not that obvious," said the hitting coach, who is entering his first full season on manager Charlie Manuel's staff after replacing Milt Thompson last July. "This one was obvious."

The problem centered on the height at which Brown, the 23-year-old uberprospect and contender to replace Jayson Werth, held his hands in his stance. Even in normal circumstances, the rightfielder's hands hover high above his back shoulder before dropping into his swing. But late in the season, they were even higher, leaving Brown standing too upright in the batter's box. Gross thought the subtle change affected his timing and, therefore, his ability to make solid contact with the ball.

After consulting members of the Phillies' minor league staff who had followed Brown during his rise through the system, Gross shared his observations with the outfielder during a short minicamp at the club's spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla.

Together, the coach and player talked through the mechanics of the swing, and, by the end of the workout, both were confident the problem had been rectified.

"The good part about it is it didn't have anything to do with his swing," Gross said. "It was just the position he was in to get started - and that wasn't that bad, either. It was just the timing of when he got to the place where he was ready to swing. Then [his hands] would drop even more and he'd be late."

Brown has proved to be a quick study thus far. The Phillies hope that trend continues when they open spring training next week in Clearwater, where the fate of their top prospect figures to be the top story line in what the club hopes is a drama-free spring.

Although the first full-squad workout won't take place until Feb. 19 - pitchers and catchers take the field Monday - Brown has been hitting with teammates in Florida since Feb. 1. He spent much of last season at Double A Reading, hitting .318 with a .993 on-base plus slugging percentage, and 15 home runs to earn a promotion in June. He continued to thrive at Triple A Lehigh Valley, hitting .346 with a .951 OPS and five homers in 28 games before Shane Victorino's oblique strain prompted the Phillies to call him up to the majors at age 22.