Dom Brown Needs To Play Everyday

Ever since Domonic Brown has been with the Phillies he has been part of a platoon. Last year he was a sub for Werth and this year he is expected to be part of a platoon with Ben Francisco.

When Brown was called up to the Phillies last year he was hitting .346 with 5 HR and 21 RBI’s for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. So how does Brown go from hitting .346 for the Pigs to just .210 for the Phils? First off there is clearly a difference between the pitching in the minors and the big leagues. But I think Brown’s struggles were mainly due to the fact that he didn’t play everyday. He goes from playing everyday in Triple-A to being in a platoon where he is playing every other day or pinch hitting where he can’t get into a rhythm.

This year Charlie needs to realize that Brown is unsuccessful coming off the bench and being part of a platoon. In order for Brown to be a successful player he needs to play everyday where he can get his timing down and get into a baseball rhythm. Also playing Brown exclusively against right-handers could hurt the Phils down the line when he goes up against big league lefties in the future.

With the absence of Shane Victorino and the struggles of Ben Francisco, this would be a perfect time to get Brown a ton of plate appearances. So Charlie will you play him everyday? Will you give Dom Brown the opportunity that he needs to succeed?

“At first, he won’t play against left-handers,” Charlie Manuel said. “Eventually, he will. We’ll monitor him, we’ll bring him along.”

That quote alone tells me that eventually Charlie will set Brown loose. It will take some time but eventually Brown will get the at-bats he deserves and become an impact player for this team.

And in case you didn’t know, Brown hit .341 with 2 HR and 10 RBI’s this year during his time with the Iron Pigs. If he struggles with the Phils [3 games still too early] I think it will be very clear to the Phillies front office that Brown needs to be in the lineup everyday.