On the Triple-A Farm: Corey Brown's mom keeps him informed of Nationals' transaction

Corey Brown's mom keeps him in the loop.

"I think my mom doesn't miss anything on the Internet. She always informs me about what is going on," the Syracuse Chiefs outfielder said.

Washington Nationals' outfielders Rick Ankiel and Xavier Nady were designated for assignment this week, while Bryce Harper is day-to-day after fouling a ball off of his foot/ankle. Brown is at the top of the list of replacements.

"I try not to pay attention to it but it is definitely around. You hear about it throughout the clubhouse. So it is circulating. Honestly, when there is anything that happens with outfielders you do try to kind of peek in and see what is going on," Brown said.

Going into Saturday's game against the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore), Brown was 11-for-his-last-22 with a pair of doubles, two home runs, and six RBI.

This season, Brown has an 18-game hit streak, a five-game home run streak, and a 31-game on-base streak.
As of Saturday afternoon, Brown leads the International League in runs (70) and total bases (207). He is second in hits (111), triples (7), slugging (.564) and extra-base hits (47). His 21 home runs are tied for third in the league. At .302 he is seventh in batting average and his 58 RBI are sixth.

The hook is that Brown has 100 strikeouts in 93 games.

Until Friday night, Brown had done all of his work out of the lead-off spot. He was moved to the No. 3 hole in the series opener with the Tides and went 2-for-4 with a run, and RBI, and a stolen base.

"At the beginning of the year I was a little questionable about being the leadoff hitter because I am not your typical lead-off guy. I would say I am more of a power hitter," Brown said. "I do strikeout a bit and that is not part of a normal lead-off kind of guy."

Syracuse is in last place in the IL North Division at 46-53.

"The wins and losses don't quite show it, but we have a good group of guys and if I am hitting first or third I will be alright with it," Brown said.

As for mom keeping an eye on the transaction wire...

"Hopefully, those moves could help me down the road. We'll see what happens. I try not to really think about it too much. Obviously, they have a plan and I hope to be part of it at some point," Brown said.

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In wrestling news, Syracuse catcher Koiye Hill doubled and singled in his first two at-bats on Friday night before scoring a takedown of Norfolk catcher Luis Exposito in the bottom of the sixth.

Both benches cleared, but no punches were thrown. Both Hill and Exposito were ejected, but neither has been suspended by the International League yet.

Hill declined commenting on the situation, but confirmed that there is no bad blood between himself and Exposito. He said that it was something that happened on the field and it will stay there and that he is moving past it.

Hill, batting in the No. 8 spot tonight, is on a season-high five-game hit streak and has raised his average 80 points to .179. Expositio is hitting sixth for the Tides.

There are fireworks scheduled for after tonight's game too.