Domonic Brown bats against the Phillies in Spring Training 2016 while in the Blue Jays organization. (Frank Klose/SportsTalkPhilly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Former Philadelphia Phillies top prospect Domonic Brown's biggest problem as a major league outfielder was that he didn't move well, and couldn't keep the ball in front of him when it was hit to him. When he did, he had a cannon of an arm that looked like it could have been one of the better arms in the league if the rest of his fielding ever came together. As we know, that, along with him hitting consistently, never came to fruition. In a minor league game Saturday, Brown got a chance to show off his best attribute.
Now playing for the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, Brown was forced to pitch when the team's game went into extra innings Saturday night:
Tonight on the Late Late Show, Domonic Brown makes his first career pitching appearance for @ABQTopes. Watch LIVE: https://t.co/WIt3mxZdKe pic.twitter.com/79XVNAmyeG
— MiLB.com (@MiLB) June 25, 2017
Brown ended up taking the loss, as he gave up four hits and five earned runs in 0.0 innings in the eventual 13-10 loss to the El Paso Chihuahuas.
Brown, who was once a higher ranked prospect than Mike Trout, seemed destined to be a bust through the first 156 games of his career, which were scattered over the course of the 2010-2012 seasons. Even in 2013, Brown batted just .233 in April. Then May of 2013 happened.
In the month of May, Brown slashed .303/.303/.688 with 12 home runs and 25 RBIs, finally beginning to fulfill his potential. Brown rode the month of May — and even a pretty strong June — to the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field.
We don't need to relive the ugly end of Brown's tenure in Philadelphia. Long story short, May 2013 proved to be a fluke, and Brown never improved from being one of the league's worst fielding outfielders. After the 2015 season, Brown was non-tendered by the Phillies, eventually joining the Blue Jays on a minor league deal prior to 2016. After not appearing in the majors in 2016, Brown signed a minor league deal with the Rockies organization this past offseason, but wasn't even invited to major league camp this Spring Training.
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Brown, who is playing for a team that changed their name to the Green Chile Cheeseburgers earlier this month, actually has heated up after a slow start to the season. He's slashing .288/.316/.433, but four outfielders on his team have gotten more at-bats than he has. At 29, and with only 104 at-bats at the end of June, it's fair to wonder what his baseball future is.
Regardless of your feelings on Brown, you have to respect the fact that he's still trying to make good on his potential.
