Vaun Brown OF. DOB: 6/23/1998. B-R, T-R. 6'1", 215 lbs. Drafted 2021 Round 10.
2022(A): .346/.427/.636, 14 HR, 23 SB, 9.5 BB%, 25.6 K%, 262 PA.
2022(A+): .350/.454/.611, 9 HR, 21 SB, 11.3 BB%, 26.8 K%, 194 PA.
Vaun Brown is a true 5-tool player who got lost in the shuffle of the lost 2020 season and shortened draft. Not since Brandon Belt has a Giants hitting prospect had such a spectacular season(and Casey Schmitt's 2023 season was equally impressive if not more so). The exciting thing about Brown is he applies skills to the tools and has done nothing but torn the cover off the ball. He's a bit old for his level so we'll be watching to see if he can keep it going at AA, but as thin as the Giants are in CF, it's not hard to visualize him playing CF and leading off a game at Oracle Park before the season is over.
I totally flashed on Gary Brown for a second. I had such hopes for Gary Brown and, in the end, it seems (if I read between the lines right) he was uncoachable believing himself to be power-hitter and wouldn't make the changes necessary. Hopefully Vaun will be a solid 15-20 HR guy with good CF defense. It'd be nice, since the last quality MLB-level CFer I remember the Giants successfully developing was Chili Davis.
ReplyDeleteIt's never been completely clear to me what Gary Brown's issues were or why he failed to have a significant MLB career. He was a very aggressive hitter who tended to swing at anything hittable. I saw him in person in a game where the pitch-trackers from the other team commented that he only saw 5 pitches in 3 AB's. That approach is generally not going to buy you a big league career. On the other hand, it's not clear to me that's what the Giants tried to change. I think they wanted him to be a "slap and dash" hitter and he wanted to get the ball in the air. I think he actually tried to alter his swing and approach but went back to what worked for him in college. I think at several points he commented that he was getting too much advice from too many different voices. He also seemed to have difficulty accepting teammates getting promoted over him and let it get into his head. Gary Brown is an interesting case study but we will likely never know the full story. One more example of a player who had the tools and was dominant in a major college conference who was apparently not quite good enough to make it in pro ball.
Deleteinteresting and bit ironic that if Gary Brown were currently a Giants prospect, they would almost certainly be encouraging him to get the ball in the air.
Delete