Matt Dominguez, 3B

[Ramp]

He doesnt have to be Ryan Zimmerman for me to be happy. A healthy version of Eric Chavez or Mikey Lowell and I will call it an epic win.

You should probably check those guys' numbers when healthy, they were absolute beasts.

[Todd]

You should probably check those guys' numbers when healthy, they were absolute beasts.

Fair enough. I usually just go with Chavez(who was awesome when on but streaky), which I speculate that Dominguez will be like.

[nny]

I think adrian beltre in non-contract years is who to expect

[Ralph]

It seems he takes his walks more than Adrian Beltre though.

[Mainge]

Matt Dominguez had a rough spring.
The Florida Marlins' top-ranked prospect was given a chance to win the starting third base job, but batted just .190 (8-for-42) in big league camp and was optioned to New Orleans on March 24.

"They showed a lot of faith in me," Dominguez said of the Marlins. "They gave me an opportunity in Spring Training. Things didn't go the way I wanted them to go. I didn't have a good Spring Training.

"But they had positive things to say to me. They said go back to Triple-A, get in the groove of things and work on some stuff. Hopefully we'll see you soon."

Then, just as Dominguez started to regain his confidence at the plate, he was hit by a pitch on his left elbow on March 31 in the Zephyrs' final exhibition game of the spring. Dominguez was diagnosed with a fracture and missed the next five weeks.

After eight rehab games with Class A Advanced Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville, Dominguez finally joined New Orleans on May 19.

"It's good," Dominguez said of his elbow. "It took a while to just get playing. I haven't had any troubles or anything."

Dominguez has long been considered an outstanding defensive player, which was part of the reason the Marlins were willing to let him compete for a big league job, even if he had not played above Double-A until this season.

His bat, however, has always been the question mark, and his rough spring plus the injury have not alleviated those concerns.

"I know in my mind I'm going to hit," Dominguez said. "[Critics] can say what they want. I feel I'll be a pretty good hitter. I've just got to work on certain things, get a little more defined as a hitter. I think it's going to come around. I'm just hot and cold, hot and cold. I just want to get a little more consistent."

So far, Dominguez has batted .242 (60-for-248) with nine home runs and 43 RBIs for the Zephyrs. He said the injury did hamper his hitting, but he is past that now.

"Going through a month-and-a-half of Spring Training, you start feeling good finally and getting back in the groove of things, then for that to happen, you sit out for five weeks," he said. "Definitely the hitting has taken a little longer [to come back]."

Dominguez said he does have to slow himself down sometimes. He is the Zephyrs' youngest player and has moved quickly up the Minor League ladder since being drafted in the first round in 2007 out of Los Angeles' Chatsworth High School.

"I'm 21, almost 22 now; being in Triple-A is quite an accomplishment," Dominguez said. "I know my time will come. I've just got to go out and get better as a hitter, get better defensively too. Hopefully things will click and I'll get up there."

--------------------
Also:

His defense is there. The Mudcats manager, David Bell (former third baseman) was praising how great Matty is. It's big league ready right now.

Matt shows flashes of a good swing, he just can't put it all together.

I would be upset if Dominguez did not repeat Double-A.

[HUGG]

It all comes together!

[Namaste]

Dominguez is going to be eligible for the AFL again, yes? If they're thinking about starting him at AAA next year, he needs to go to the AFL in the fall.

RIP Wanks

[Jay]

I like how he says he needs to get better on defense when he is already consider one of the best

[emkayseven]

Yeah what the hell happens to wanks

[MiamiHomer]

He's exclusively on twitter now.

[Mainge]

Florida third base prospect Matt Dominguez continued to stay productive at the plate Wednesday night. Now the Marlins will hope that the apparent injury that forced him to exit the game is not serious.

The former first-rounder slugged a three-run homer in the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs' 8-7 loss to the Las Vegas 51s. He is hitting .571 (12-for-21) with nine RBIs over his last five games.

After striking out in his first at-bat, Dominguez -- selected 12th overall in the 2007 Draft -- went yard to left field with one out in the fourth inning. It was his 11th longball of the year and the second in the past four days.

In the sixth, the 6-foot-1 right-hander hit into a 6-4-3 double play before leaving the game in the home half of the inning with what was initially suspected to be an upper leg injury.

Florida's top prospect has found his groove at the plate of late. He was 4-for-6 with three RBIs, missing hitting for the cycle by a triple, in the series opener with Las Vegas on Sunday, and he had two hits in each of the previous two games. In 10 August games, he is batting .378.

A front-runner for landing a starting job with the Marlins entering Spring Training this March, the California native struggled in Grapefruit League action before being assigned to the Zephyrs. He broke his left elbow in New Orleans' final preseason outing and missed the first six weeks of the regular season.

He returned to action May 10, making four rehab starts with the Class A Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League before taking a five-hour trip north up Florida's East Coast to join the Double-A Jacksonville Suns for a four-game set at home to the Mississippi Braves.

Despite concluding his Southern League assignment with just two hits and one RBI in 15 at-bats, Dominguez rejoined the Zephyrs the following day. Since returning to the New Orleans lineup May 19, the third baseman is hitting .260 with 53 RBIs in 76 Pacific League outings.

On Wednesday, Dominguez hit one of five Zephyrs' homers. Chris Aguila blasted two longballs for the third time this season to move him one homer shy of Daryle Ward (53) for second place on the team's all-time list. Mike Cervenak and Sergio Pedroza also went deep for the Marlins affiliate.

Former first-rounder Robert Ray (1-3) earned his first PCL win of the year, despite allowing seven runs on 11 hits and a walk while striking out six over 7 2/3 innings.

http://www.lockerpulse.com/News/Pros...lorida-Marlins

Dammit.

[Omar]

Is it just me, or is he hurt a lot?

[emkayseven]

Is it just me or is hearing him referred to as "Florida's top prospect" depressing?

[Beef]

Shouldn't you just be happy it's not a high school catcher?

[dim]

Is it just me or is hearing him referred to as "Florida's top prospect" depressing?

Somewhat. It's nice to have guys like Realmuto and Yelich with bright futures though.

It sucks that for the most part, our talent in terms of starting pitching in the minors is pretty crappy. No real #1/2/3 potential pitchers, just a lot of 5's.