Free Agent Watch: Andrew Brown

The St. Louis Cardinals designated Andrew Brown for assignment this week. He could still be outrighted to the minors, but could be claimed by another team and a deal could be made. In the minors, he has a 2.54 PAP, and a 1.38 PPG with a .857 OPS and .365 OBP. These numbers are not all that impressive. However, rather strangely, he has been better in AAA with a 1.53 PPG, 2.4 PAPP, .833 OPS, and .382 OBP. He played sparingly in the Majors this year, but only in 11 games with 22 plate appearances, so statistical analysis would be useless. He appears to have been a find, as he was picked in the 18th round of the 2007 draft. He is already 27, so it is hard to imagine he will improve much more (if at all), and should be in his prime. He has the most experience at 1st (238 games), but has also played corner outfield and 3rd. He is the best at LF as far as fielding percentage (.988) with a 1.42 Range Factor. The Major League average for LF was .982 in 2011 and Delmon Young, a pretty bad fielder, has a 1.88 Range Factor at LF. So it seems that Brown is about an average LF. Brown's worst position is 3rd (.941), and it seems doubtful that a MLB team would want to use him there. His best Range Factor is actually at first though, with a 8.40. The League average was 9.31 though, so it is difficult to see Brown having a big future there. It is always hard to tell how numbers will translate from AAA to the Majors, but the OBP certainly gives hope. The AAA numbers overall are very encouraging. It is hard to put just a whole lot of value on him though, unless a team with a low payroll really needs a 4th or 5th outfielder and is willing to give up a prospect with a relatively high ceiling but still being far away. My guess is that no one will claim him and he will stay with the Cardinals.