Jordan Brown, Others added to 40-man Roster
Written By: Scott | Category: Cleveland Indians | Comments: 9
This morning, the Cleveland Indians announced that they have purchased the contracts of seven players and added them to their 40-man roster. Among the seven is Jordan Brown, whom we have discussed around these parts for a good portion of the last two seasons.
With Andy Marte getting his just due with the big boys last season, the move kept Brown with the Columbus Clippers. In fact, Brown was in Triple-A for two straight seasons – something that is not very common among top prospects. But with the influx of young talented outfielders like Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley, Brown had been placed on the back burner despite solid hitting statistics.
The team press release had the following on Brown:
Brown, 25, spent the entire season in AAA Columbus where he was a mid-season and post-season all-star selection and hit an International League-best .336 (140-417) with 35 2B, 1 3B, 15HR & 67 RBI in 111 games. The .336 mark was the 2nd highest single-season average in Columbus history. He was also named to the Topps Triple A All-Star Team. In addition to winning the batting title he finished 3rd in the league in slugging % (.532), 4th in OPS (.913), 6th in hits (140), 4th in total bases (222) & tied for 5th in doubles (35). Jordan appeared in left field in 41 games, right field in 27 games and first base in 22 games. He is currently hitting .318 (35-110) with 4HR & 21RBI in 32 games for Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League. Brown was the club’s 4th round pick (124th overall) in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arizona.
But why were these numbers left in the minors? Apparently because Eric Wedge preferred Chris Giminez’s versatility. In a post this past summer, DP dove into Brown’s situation and satated that not only was Brown just as versatile – save for the catcher position – but he was “light years ahead of Giminez” in terms of hitting. And he was right.
The down side is, the most that Brown, a year younger than Giminez, could hope for is a bench spot with the big boys until an injury occurs. Good news is that now that Brown has been added to the 40-man, he can at least get a much-deserved September call-up when the Indians are way out of contention.
Others added to the 40-man roster this morning include infielder Jason Donald, infielder Wes Hodges, outfielder Nick Weglarz, infielder Carlos Rivero, pitcher Jeanmar Gomez, and infielder pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz. Going into the 2009 season, Wegalarz (third), De La Cruz (seventh) and Rivero (tenth) were among Baseball America’s top 10 prospects for the Indians. Brown, Hodges and Weglarz were among the top 10 in 2008, but were replaced the following year.
Author: Scott
Scott is a co-founder/editor of Waiting For Next Year who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Feel free to follow him on Twitter or email him at scott@waitingfornextyear.com.Scott has written 1700 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
I think you mean LHP Kelvin De La Cruz.
I did – fixed! Thanks.
Why does Jordan Brown look like a smurf in that picture?
I don’t think Baseball America will rate Weglarz after his pathetic year in 2009-and I don’t want to hear his name until he can hit his weight.
I hope the Tribe calls up Jason Donald and Stephen Head so we get the potential for “Donald Brown Head” at the top of the dugout.
“I don’t want to hear his name until he can hit his weight.”
YOU CAN’T MAKE ME STOP SAYING WEGLARZ. I’LL SAY IT AS MUCH AS I PLEASE.
WEGLARZ WEGLARZ WEGLARZ WEGLARZ WEGLARZ
gotta love Isis’ optimism.
Brown was awesome last year…I’m glad he’s finally getting his shot. He deserves a lot more than what he got last year.
Good for Brown. The Tribe must really really like De La Cruz. Pitchers who haven’t pitched above Single A and who were hurt for most of year don’t usually get protected. He does have a lot of promise.
Just for Isis – Weglarz has a lot of power potential, which the Tribe’s system is lacking in. You’ll be hearing his name many more times regardless of his average.
[...] seven new minor leagues into the mix on their their official 40-man roster Friday morning. TD first mentioned the story on the blog yesterday in talking about how Jordan Brown finally received his well worth promotion [...]