Opportunity Awaits for Domonic Brown at Phillies' Camp

February 20 2011 Last updated at 02:09 PM ET

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Domonic Brown wears a light-grey T-shirt with the sleeves cut off under his Phillies uniform.

The shirt is made by Nike, but the slogan on it might as well come from the Philadelphia front office:

YOUR
TIME
WILL
COME

Told Sunday the slogan is appropriate, Brown chuckled and nodded.

FanHouse rated Brown, 23, the No. 6 prospect in baseball. And with Jayson Werth gone, having taken the Nationals' money, there is a spot for Brown in right field at Citizens Bank Park.

But this is the Phillies, built to win now. Being a top prospect only gets you a chance, not a guarantee.

"It's his job to claim," manager Charlie Manuel said, "not necessarily his job to (lose)."

John Mayberry Jr. and Ben Francisco are the other internal candidates.

Brown -- tall (6-foot-5), lean (205 pounds) and agile -- has a career .836 OPS in the minors. Over 424 career minor-league games, he has hit .296 with 48 homers, 81 doubles and 89 stolen bases.

"He's got the ability," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

But the Phillies would like to see Brown improve his outfield play and his baserunning. And there's the matter of some rust.

Philadelphia called up Brown on July 28, but over the next two months he got just 62 at-bats, being shut down for much of September with a tender right quadriceps. Brown went to the Dominican Winter League for some more experience, but he hit .069 (2-for-29) in nine games, and the Phillies told him to take the rest of the winter off.

So Brown has to prove this spring he is ready for the big leagues full-time.

"I don't have a job at all. We've got a pretty good group of outfielders here."
- Domonic Brown "He won't be handed a job," Amaro said.

Brown understands.

"I don't have a job at all," he said. "We've got a pretty good group of outfielders here. A lot of talent in this clubhouse. We're going to see what happens."

Brown said no matter how it turns out, he wants to enjoy the journey, because the past two years "flew by."

With Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez in the lineup, Brown shouldn't have to immediately replicate Werth's production (.532 slugging percentage, .388 on-base percentage, 106 runs scored).

When Werth signed with Washington for $126 million over seven years, Brown's time came a little closer.

"I congratulated him," Brown said, "and then got back to work.

"That put a different mindset in my mind. I took it from there."

Ed Price | Twitter: @ed_price | E-mail: edpriceny@gmail.com

Ed is a Senior MLB Writer for FanHouse. He served as a Yankees beat reporter at the Newark Star-Ledger and Diamondbacks writer for the East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.). He also worked in Burlington, N.C.; Augusta, Ga,; and West Palm Beach, Fla. Price is a member of the BBWAA and is a Hall of Fame voter.

Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/02/20/opportunity-awaits-for-domonic-brown-at-phillies-camp/

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