ALLENTOWN - The soon-to-be crowd at Coca Cola Park was still wrapping up the work day when the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took the field for batting practice yesterday afternoon. The gates were still closed, the afternoon sun still hanging in the sky, the centerfield scoreboard still dormant. But as Ryne Sandberg took his usual reading on the pregame temperature of his team, he noticed a little more energy, and as he watched Domonic Brown drive balls into the outfield, he understood why.
Top prospect Domonic Brown one step away from Philly again
"What I noticed just in one batting practice is that he brought kind of a new life and some excitement to the team, which is going good," the Hall of Fame second baseman and IronPigs manager said. "We've got a good bunch of guys here. But I did notice some excitement amongst them. Just taking a round of BP. He's got a different look to his ball coming off the bat. We're definitely glad to have him."
The big unknown is how long they will keep him. Brown, the dynamic, 23-year-old outfielder who enters this season as one of the top prospects in the sport, had hoped to be playing regularly in Philadelphia by this point, but a broken hand early in spring training derailed any chance he had of earning a spot on the Phillies' roster. Seven weeks later, Brown is coming off a five-game rehab assignment at Class A Clearwater, where he went 7-for-19 with two home runs and a double. The Phillies, meanwhile, enter today with an impressive record (18-9, best in the NL) that belies the struggles they have endured on offense, where they rank sixth in runs (121), seventh in batting average (.256), 10th in OPS (.704) and eighth in home runs (23).
Charlie Manuel is looking forward to his lineup getting a boost later this month, when he hopes second baseman Chase Utley will return from the disabled list. But Utley probably isn't the cure-all, and if the Phillies continue to get spotty production behind Ryan Howard in the order, there could be an opening for a certain toolsy outfielder who hit 20 home runs with a .980 OPS in the minors last season.
"Of course I'm paying attention to what is going on up there," Brown said yesterday, when he rejoined the IronPigs after being activated from the disabled list. "Hopefully I can contribute to the team whenever. Right now, I'm thinking about Lehigh. That's where my mind is right now."