2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #48 Jordan Brown

Jordan Brown – First Baseman
Born: 12/18/1983 – Height: 6’0” – Weight: 205 – Bats: Left – Throws: Left

(Photo: Ken Carr)

History: Brown was selected by the Indians in the 4th round of the 2005 Draft out of the University of Arizona. He won the Carolina League MVP Award at High-A Kinston in 2006, and followed that up with the Eastern League MVP Award at Double-A Akron in 2007 where his .333 batting average also won him the league batting title. His back-to-back MVP seasons in 2006 and 2007 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. He also hit .336 and won the International League batting title in 2009 while playing for Triple-A Columbus.

Strengths: Brown is not only one of the best hitters in the entire Indians’ organization, but is one of the best in all of the minors as well. He is a pure hitter who has excellent hand-eye coordination and is a tough out for pitchers because he battles on every pitch and makes hard, consistent contact. He only has average power, but he shows good power to the gaps and has a knack for piling up doubles. He won’t blow anyone away with eye popping production numbers, but he is a consistent performer with very few cold spells. He is an average runner who displays good instincts and intelligence on the base paths. He does not have great physical abilities, but he is a very intelligent player, has outstanding work ethic, and is as strong-willed and mentally tough as they come.

Brown came into the organization as a hacker, but he quickly adapted as a hitter in his first few seasons by understanding the value of getting good pitches to hit. From that understanding he has developed into one of the best strike zone managers in baseball. His high contact rate, high batting average and low power approach has often had him compared to the likes of former Indian Sean Casey. The difference is his defense as he is considered a below average defender at both first base and left field. He found himself playing a lot of first base last year, especially late in the season, which was somewhat of a surprise considering the Indians had seemingly abandoned him at the position, and it appears it will be the position they will focus on him at in 2011.

Brown has had a tough time avoiding the injury bug in his career with the Indians. He suffered a hand injury in 2005 which resulted in him missing almost a month at short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley, he had scar tissue and bone chips in his knee which led to arthroscopic surgery after his 2007 season at Double-Akron, he suffered from patellar tendonitis to his left knee in 2008 at Buffalo which affected him for most of the first half of the season there, in 2009 at Triple-A Columbus he had a shoulder injury late in the season which sidelined him for three weeks, and then last season he injured his right knee in spring training while he was doing outfield drills.

Brown had to have arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus which resulted in him missing all of the exhibition season in spring training and an opportunity to play in the spring and show his stuff to the big league staff in Cleveland. He started the year in extended spring training on a rehab assignment and missed the first month of the season before going to Triple-A Columbus at the end of April. When he came back he struggled with his swing in the early part of the season but by the end of the season was once again driving the balls to all parts of the field.

Opportunities: There is no question that Brown can hit and he has little he needs to do from that perspective other than trying to drive the ball a little more and putting up more quality at bats against left-handed pitching. His two biggest areas of opportunity are his health and defense. Injuries have been a red flag for him in his career and combined with his below average defense have caused him to miss a lot of time and opportunities with the Indians. For a player without power to be considered an everyday option at those two run producing positions he has to play above average defense, which is something he does not do. At his age there is little chance for him to become an above average defender, but there is still some opportunity for him to become an average major league defender. The Indians pushed him defensively last year and he made some positive strides at first base and in the outfield, but he still needs improvement with his route running and getting better jumps on balls in the outfield, and at first base he needs to continue to improve his footwork around the bag.

Outlook: It has been an interesting twist of ups and downs for Brown in the past year. He was finally added to the 40-man roster in November of 2009, then was injured in February last year, finally made his big league debut in August, and then was removed from the 40-man roster this past January. His issues defensively, some poorly timed injuries, and the lack of a big run producing bat that teams typically like at first base and left field is why he has had limited opportunities with the Indians and why teams passed on him in the Rule 5 Draft in 2008 and did not claim him on waivers this past January. The Indians are thin at first base as they really only have Matt LaPorta available to play there everyday at the big league level. If LaPorta has an injury or continues to struggle as a hitter at the big league level, the Indians could call on Brown to fill in at first base at some point over the course of the 2011 season. A second opportunity could be all he needs to get his career back on track. He should open the 2011 season at Triple-A Columbus, his fourth straight season in Triple-A.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	21	Mahoning Valley	A-	19	75	15	19	1	0	3	7	3	7	2	.253	.291	.387	.678
2006	22	Kinston Indians	A+	125	473	71	137	26	7	15	87	51	59	4	.290	.362	.469	.831
2007	23	Akron	AA	127	483	85	161	36	2	11	76	63	56	11	.333	.421	.484	.905
2008	24	Buffalo	AAA	109	420	52	118	30	3	7	51	35	67	3	.281	.337	.417	.754
2009	25	Columbus	AAA	111	417	65	140	35	1	15	67	30	64	2	.336	.381	.532	.913
2010	26	Columbus	AAA	83	326	31	97	28	1	8	67	21	48	2	.298	.341	.463	.804
2010	26	Cleveland	ML	26	87	9	20	7	0	0	2	4	10	0	.230	.272	.310	.582
		MiLB Totals		574	2194	319	672	156	14	59	355	203	301	24	.306	.369	.471	.840
		MLB Totals		26	87	9	20	7	0	0	2	4	10	0	.230	.272	.310	.582

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