SF Giants prospects: Vaun Brown finishes 2022 with best AVG & OPS in minors

Vaun Brown, one of the SF Giants most exciting prospects finished the season with the best batting average and OPS in the minor leagues.

Marc Delucchi | Oct 6, 2022

SF Giants prospects: Vaun Brown finishes 2022 with best AVG & OPS in minors /

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San Francisco Giants

With the 2022 season over, SF Giants prospect Vaun Brown can officially call himself the minor-league batting champion. Between three minor-league levels, Brown hit .346/.437/.623 with 24 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs, and 44 stolen bases (50 attempts). His batting average and OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) were better than any other qualified hitter in the minor leagues.

SF Giants prospect Vaun Brown working out in Sarasota, Florida. (2020) — SF Giants prospect Vaun Brown working out during his college tenure at Florida Southern. (2020) :: HERALD-TRIBUNE STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Brown has arguably been the best story in the Giants organization this season. Brown had a standout season as a fifth-year senior at Division-II Florida Southern College in 2021, but was far from a well-known name in draft circles. He was unranked by every public outlet, but did have the attention of Giants scouts. San Francisco drafted him in the 10th round of the draft and signed him for a significantly below-slot $7,500 signing bonus.

Just over a year later, the Giants decision to sign Brown is looking like one of the shrewdest decisions in the 2021 draft. Brown began this season at Single-A San Jose and recorded a .347/.428/.636 triple slash with 14 home runs and 23 stolen bases in just 59 games.

Quickly promoted to High-A, Brown was nearly as productive against better competition. In 43 games, Brown racked up nine homers and 21 steals with a .350/.454/.612 line before he was promoted once again.

Injuries limited Brown to just one game at Double-A, but despite that, he amassed enough plate appearances (458) to qualify for the minor-league leaderboard. So, with a .346 batting average and 1.060 OPS, Brown won the minor-league batting and OPS titles.

On top of his spot on leaderboards, Brown even achieved a feat only matched by four other prospects in the past 15 years this season. While he is much older than most other prospects after their first full minor-league season, having turned 24 in June, he still has tantalizing upside.

The SF Giants have many intriguing prospects in their farm system. However, no one in the organization had a more productive 2022 season than outfielder Vaun Brown. In fact, going by the numbers, he arguably had the best statistical season in the minor leagues.

Published Oct 6, 2022

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).