Jordan Brown

Jordan Brown - First Baseman
Age: 24 Height: 6'0" Weight: 205 Bats: Left Throws: Left

	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007 Akron	.333	127	483	85	161	36	2	11	76	63	56	11	.421	.484	.906
Career	.307	271	1031	171	317	63	10	29	171	117	122	17	.385	.472	.858

History: Before last season, Brown got a lot less pub than his former University of Arizona Wildcat teammate Trevor Crowe. While Crowe was drafted in the 1st round of the 2005 Draft, Brown was selected a few rounds later in the 4th round of the same draft. After a very slow start in 2006 where he hit .232 with 0 HR and 9 RBI in Kinston's first 28 games that season, Brown settled in to finish the season hitting .290 with 15 HR, 87 RBI and an .831 OPS and won the Carolina League MVP Award in 2006, and his career has taken off from there. Last year at Akron, his .333 batting average won him a league batting title, and he also finished 1st in the league in hits (161), 6th in runs (85), 4th in doubles (36), 9th in RBI (76), 3rd in on-base percentage (.421), 11th in slugging percentage (.484), and 5th in OPS (.906).

Strengths & Opportunities: Brown has an amazing ability to put up consistent numbers from month to month and year to year. He is a very disciplined hitter and gets on-base at a very good clip. He is one of the best players in the system at bat-to-ball ability and making hard, consistent contact as demonstrated by his low strikeout totals where he strikes out only once every 8.5 at bats for his career and has virtually a 1:1 walk to strikeout ratio for his career. Brown will likely at most be a 20-25 HR a year hitter, but he has good gap power and piles up doubles. Baseball America rated Brown as having the best tools, best strike zone judgment, and as the best batting prospects in the Eastern League last year.

Brown is a pure hitter with incredible hand-eye coordination and a passion for hitting. His sweet swing and approach at the plate has drawn many comparisons to the likes of Sean Casey, Mark Grace and John Olerud, players who never hit for a lot of power but hit for a high average and piled up doubles. Brown is athletic and a hard worker. While he only has average speed, his intelligence as a runner helps him get good jumps to steal bases and take extra bases on hits.

Given the depth the Indians farm system had in the outfield going into last season, Brown was moved back to first base last year. Brown has played first base and outfield throughout his college and professional career, and the flexibility to adequately play both positions will help him down the road as he looks to make the big league club. With such a logjam in the outfield and at first base at Buffalo this year, Brown may end up splitting his time at both first base and outfield. He moves well around the bag, but he still needs more work on his overall defense and positioning with relay throws from the outfield.

Brown's consistent and very good season is even more impressive when you consider he was bothered by an injury to his left knee since May, and the injury lingered all year as he played through it. Brown had scar tissue and bone chips in his knee causing pain, but he was informed he could not injure himself any worse by playing, so he opted to play through the season and have arthroscopic surgery in the offseason. The only thing the injury really affected was Brown's ability to run the bases as it slowed him down some. Brown's only other injury since joining the Indians was a hand injury he suffered in 2005 which limited him to only 19 games at Mahoning Valley after being drafted.

Last year, Brown was named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year, which is an award that has good company. Since the award came into existence in 1996, Eastern League Rookie of the Year honorees have included Vladimir Guerrero (1996), Mark Kotsay (1997), Pat Burrell (1999), Alex Escobar (2001), Marlon Byrd (2002), Grady Sizemore (2003), and Ryan Howard (2004). He also was named MVP of the Eastern League, which was Brown's second straight MVP-season as he won the Carolina League MVP Award in 2006. Brown's back-to-back MVP seasons are only rivaled by Victor Martinez, as he won the Carolina League MVP in 2001 and the Eastern League MVP in 2002 in successive years just like Brown. Brown was also the Topps Carolina League Player of the Year in 2006 and Topps Eastern League Player of the Year in 2007.

Brown came in as a hacker when he was drafted, but has learned to understand the value of getting good pitches to hit. He understands that he can not do damage early in the count with marginal pitches, and he has developed into one of the best strike zone managers in baseball. Going forward, there is not a lot he needs to do as a hitter as he really just needs to continue learning to make adjustments and get some at bats in Triple-A. His main focus will be on improving defensively, be it at first base or in the outfield. If he hones his defensive skills, he could be a very special player for a long time.

Outlook: Even after winning the Carolina League MVP in 2006 at Kinston, Brown still seemed to come into the 2007 season somewhat under the radar. Not anymore. Brown quickly proved last year that his MVP season was legit, and that he was a prospect to be reckoned with. Brown just needs a little seasoning in Triple-A, and is an option for the Indians really anytime in 2008. He will start the year in Buffalo.

Video: Brown at the plate and taking batting practice in spring training.

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