Photo: USA Baseball
After picking two pitchers in day one of the draft, the Phillies drafted their first position player in Pepperdine's Aaron Brown. Brown is an interesting selection, as he has not only played the centerfield, but has had plenty of success as a left-handed pitcher. According to MLB.com's scouting report on him, after his junior year, he cemented himself as one of the more highly regarded college two-way players.
Brown opted not to sign after he was drafted in 2011 by the Pirates or as a sophomore by the Cleveland Indians in the 30th round of last year's draft. The Pepperdine junior hit .310 with 12 homers and 47 RBI this year. One thing Phillies fans may not want to hear about him is that because of his 220 pounds and power tendencies, he tends to swing and miss more.Pepperdine coach, Steve Rodriguez, talked about the latest Phillies draftee's hitting and pitching in a Baseball America Golden Spikes Spotlight back in March.
"As you see with a lot of kids, when they walk into a program, that's one of the biggest things is being able to gain command," Rodriguez said. "In high school, they can have some success getting guys to chase. But his command of his fastball and slider and changeup have become really good. Everything is there. I think he was up to 92 mph [Sunday] with a hard-breaking slider, so everything we've seen in the past is there, but the command has been a little bit better. Not to mention he's just a competitor, too."
"The biggest thing for him is he's so strong. He can get jammed and still have success, hit the ball off the end of the bat and still have success," Rodriguez said. "His physical strength has really helped him. He's a strong physical kid; he'll have a little swing and miss in there because of the kind of hitter he is. His approach the last few games is what has impressed me."
He'll throw his fastball in the 90-92 mph range with some sink when he can keep it down in the zone. His slider will flash above-average, and he has the makings of a potentially Major League-average changeup. This may be a moot point, as the Phillies may see the 21-year-old as an outfielder rather than a pitcher.
Because of his aggressiveness and style of play, Brown has been injury-prone along the way. The good thing is that it makes him a good defender in center field, where his coach, Steve Rodriguez, said he makes it look easy. As a freshman, he broke his thumb diving for a ball in the outfield. As a sophomore, he battled a hamate injury for most of the year, limiting him to 48 at-bats.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
