Domonic Brown, the top prospect in the Phillies organization, was set to begin the season starting in the outfield for Philadelphia, but a wrist injury has delayed his start to the season. It’s a shame for Brown, as he’ll have to wait a while longer to showcase his immense talents. His minor league track record clearly indicates that this is a player with considerable promise. In 2010 alone, Brown batted .327 with 20 home runs and 117 stolen bases between AA and AAA. While it may take some time for his power to catch up to big league pitching, there’s no reason to believe that Brown’s speed won’t immediately translate to top-flight production (hear that fantasy owners?). In fact, analyst and prospect sycophant Bill James seems to believe Brown’s talents are already poised to threaten a 30/30 season [cough] crazy talk [cough]. Most scouts are still generally concerned with some obvious flaws (holes) in Brown’s swing. His brief stay with the Phillies included a .210 batting average and strikeouts in more than 38% of his at bats, both clear indications that no prospect is a bona fide “can’t miss”. Still, Philly fans and fantasy owners alike eagerly await his return.
In the meantime, the team is expected to use some combination of John Mayberry, Ben Francisco and even Ross Gload to pick up the slack. Interestingly enough, these options aren’t as diminished as most would assume. Circumstances are not as dire in Philadelphia (even with the Chase Utley injury) as many believe. At least a couple off intriguing options avail themselves, even if they aren’t perfect—a fact that holds true both in Philadelphia and in fantasyland.
John Mayberry had an impressive spring, batting .294 with 5 home runs , 11 RBIs, and 4 steals—all numbers that look rather impressive projected out over a full fantasy season. Alas, despite posting some decent minor league seasons, Mayberry has never hit to a high average, reaching a career high of .268 in 2008 (Rangers, AA). He’s been hamstrung by a high strikeout rate (over 25% career) and hasn’t shown the ability to be more than a fourth or fifth outfielder. At the big league level, the strikeout issue has been even more pronounced, with Mayberry whiffing 38.6% of the time. That contact rate, or lack thereof, will likely prevent Mayberry from providing consistent fantasy output.
Ben Francisco possesses a similar skill set to Mayberry, but he’s proven himself to a greater degree at the Major League level, compiling 1225 plate appearances in the process. Along the way, he’s put together some very useful stretches, even compiling a 15 HR, 14 SB season (2009). Despite his obvious combination of power and speed, teams have been reticent to give Francisco a full-time job, whether it be with Cleveland, or with his current employers. To this end, Francisco has never played in more than 126 games in any big league season. However, projected over a full season, this is a player with a legitimate 20/20 ceiling, and deep fantasy league owners should be aware of this fact. As a short term solution, fantasy fanatics and Philly Phanatics could do a lot worse than having Francisco roving the outfield.
Ross Gload, on the other hand, has no illusions of being an everyday player. He too has never secured a job as a Major League regular, and has yet to reach 400 at bats in a given season. That’s unlikely to change with his 35th birthday just days away. Gload’s main role will be that of pinch hitter while occasionally spelling Ryan Howard at first and roaming the outfield on occasion—similar to the role Matt Stairs played in 2009, albeit with less power potential and vastly inferior facial hair.
Damian Schaab is a senior writer for SportsGrumblings.com, and member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. You can hear his fantasy reflections on XM147/Sirius211 between 8 and 11 PM, EST every Saturday evening at a satellite radio near you. Also, do feel obligated to follow his misanthropic musings via Twitter @jsjournalism and, of course, right here at http://jockstrapjournalism.blogspot.com/
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