Dominic Brown’s Struggles Open The Door For Francisco

Maybe it’s not what the Phillies’ front office had planned for, but Ben Francisco is looking more and more like the new starting right fielder.

For those of you who haven’t heard, Domonic Brown has been playing very poorly in the Dominican winter league. If you look at the stats, you wouldn’t even think he was playing. He has just one hit in 23 at-bats and is batting a measly .043 with an OPS of .207.

Now he didn’t put up great numbers during his 35 games with the Phillies (.210 average with 13 RBI’s), but there’s no explanation for his numbers to decline when he is just 23-years old. Actually, his numbers haven’t declined, they’re basically non-existent right now.

With that said, is Domonic Brown ready to be a starter in the majors?

My opinion is that he isn’t ready, and that’s tough for me to say because I had such high hopes for him when he was called up from the minors. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m giving up on the kid, but if the Phillies are truly set on making a postseason run in 2011, they should not assign him as the starter entering the season.

Instead, Ben Francisco should be the one who takes over for Jayson Werth.

Brown’s weak showing in winter ball has opened up the door for the 29-year old right-handed bat.

Francisco made his major league debut back in 2007 with the Cleveland Indians, where he compiled a .274 batting average and 13 RBI’s in just 25 games.

In 2010 with the Phillies, Francisco played more left field than right field; however, it appears that he will see more time in right field next season rather than left field.

One thing that I like about Francisco is his short, compact swing, whereas Brown has an exaggerated uppercut-of-a-swing.

Major league pitchers are able to get around Brown by throwing high fastballs because he cannot simply get his bat around quick enough to catch up to a mid-90’s fastball. On the other hand, Francisco is a better hitter because of his short swing, and at the same time, is able to deliver a good amount of power behind his swing.

The Phils return eight of nine position players, a three-headed monster at the top of the pitching rotation between Roy Hallday, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt, and plan to add a few pieces to aid the bullpen. Because of that, Francisco should be the opening day starter  in right field because he gives the Phils a reliable right-handed bat that breaks up the lefty-driven lineup, while bringing veteran leadership to a playoff hungry club.

Who knows, maybe Francisco is a late bloomer and his better days are ahead of him, just like Jayson Werth when he arrived in Philadelphia at 28-years old.

However, don’t count out Brown, he just needs to get his confidence back before he is thrown into the starting lineup for the reigning NL East champs – he is just 23-years old.