Domonic Brown was poised to be a major league star.

During his tenure with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Brown was a fan favorite and it seemed like just a matter of time until he would be leading a young group of players in Philadelphia.

In 2013, Brown hit 23 home runs in the first half of the season and was named to the National League All-Star Team. Granted, the Phillies didn’t have a lot of options to send to the Mid-Summer Classic that year, but Brown’s numbers were certainly legitimate.

Here we are five summers later and Brown hasn’t hit as many home runs in the majors as he did in the first half of 2013. In fact, he hasn’t played in the majors since 2015 when he played in 63 games with the Phillies and hit .228 with five homers.

Following his career with the Phillies that saw him hit 54 home runs with 229 RBIs and a .246 average, Brown signed a minor league deal with Toronto. He played at Triple-A Buffalo in 2016, became a free agent and signed another minor league deal, this time with Colorado. Last July, he was released and spent the rest of the summer out of baseball.

This spring brought no invitations to spring training, so Brown headed south to Mexico to play for the Monterrey Sultans of the Mexican League, basically equivalent to Triple-A ball, but unaffiliated with any particular teams. It’s basically an audition stage for guys looking to either make it back to affiliated ball or get noticed for the first time in their careers.

Unfortunately, Brown’s audition was short-lived. After a month with Monterrey, he had good power numbers with seven homers in 109 at-bats, but was hitting just .211 and was released. He’s yet to catch on anywhere in affiliated ball and it could be the end of what was once a promising career for the young, power-hitting outfielder who has suddenly become a 30-year-old, out-of-work outfielder still looking for any semblance of an opportunity in baseball.

HEAD SOUTH ... Brown isn’t the only former IronPig looking for an opportunity by playing in Mexico. Jorge Flores, who played for Lehigh Valley last season, is hitting .317 with two different teams, Puebla and Norte. Outfielder Jason Bourgeois is hitting .317 as well, playing for the Tigres de Quinatna Roo. Cedric Hunter played for both Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia in 2016, and is hitting .308 with 12 home runs for Leon.

FROM MEXICO TO CANADA ... Yeah, that was former IronPigs closer Phillippe Aumont you saw pitching for Toledo at the end of the Pigs last homestand. The product of Quebec, Canada actually went back to Canada to pitch in the CanAm League last season, and has returned to affiliated ball after being given a minor league contract by Detroit this spring. He opened the season with two shutout relief appearances at Double-A Erie, and has now pitched in 16 games for Toledo, with a 3.95 ERA. The control problems that hampered him with the Phillies are still there – 12 walks in 30 innings – but aren’t as bad as they were at times earlier in his career.

ANOTHER SHOT ... The Milwaukee Brewers recently found themselves in desperate need of a backup catcher. They worked out a deal to send “future considerations” to the Yankees for former IronPigs and Phillies catcher Erik Kratz. The Brewers brought Kratz right up to the majors and in his first game back on May 26, he welcomed himself back with a solo home run. He hit his third homer on Monday against the Cubs. In six games with Milwaukee, he’s got three home runs, four RBIs and is batting .435 with a .500 on-base percentage. Persistence has paid off for the 37-year-old catcher, who has now played all or part of nine straight seasons in the majors.

BIG THINGS IN TEXAS ... Tommy Joseph and Cameron Rupp are having nice seasons for the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Joseph is hitting .265 with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs in 52 games. Rupp has clubbed eight homers and has 26 RBIs and a .274 average in 32 games with the Express.