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Future might be now for Florida Marlins’ Matt Dominguez
By Clark Spencer
cspencer@MiamiHerald.com
Step back to the 1960s. Across the state in Tampa, the Cincinnati Reds have their eye on a young talent they are counting on to be their third baseman.
He is Tony Perez. He was young and somewhat inexperienced.
Perez not only became the Reds’ third baseman early in his career, but also he went on to have a Hall of Fame career.
Now fast-forward to the present. The Marlins have their eye on another young talent they are counting on to become their third baseman of the future, if not immediately.
He is Matt Dominguez. He is 21. He is an unproven rookie.
“Yeah,” Perez said, laughing. “But he can pick it much better than me. That’s why they moved me to first eventually. I’ve seen him play, and he’s a natural at third.”
Few dispute that Dominguez is gifted with the glove.
Perez, now a front-office assistant with the Marlins, has witnessed it with his own eyes, watching with interest as Dominguez has steadily worked his way up the minor-league ladder after the Marlins took him with their first pick — 12th overall — in the 2007 draft.
Wes Helms, the Marlins’ veteran utility corner infielder, noticed it instantly during each of the previous two spring trainings, when Dominguez was nothing more than an invite with no chance of making the club.
“Defensively, in my opinion, he would be in the top defenders in the league at third base right now,” Helms said.
Even Dominguez, modest and soft-spoken, figures he can play the hot corner in the majors at this very moment.
“I think defensively I’m ready,” he said.
Question mark at plate
But, of course, there is the other part of the equation that Dominguez and everyone else knows must be mastered, the part that will decide whether he starts the season with the Marlins or in the minors.
It’s the one aspect of his game that will be watched closest when the Grapefruit League games start Monday.
Beginning then, all eyes will be on his bat.
If Dominguez hits, he sticks.
If he fails the audition, it’s off to Triple A New Orleans.
But the Marlins are giving Dominguez every opportunity to win the job. They want his glove to help improve a defense that has contributed to the Marlins giving up the most unearned runs in the majors over the past five seasons.
They’re not expecting Dominguez to hit like Perez did during his playing days. They’re just looking for him to hold his own against major-league pitching.
As such, Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said more attention will be given to how Dominguez looks at the plate this spring than on his numbers.
“I want to see the at-bats,” Beinfest said. “I want to see pitch recognition. I want to see him fouling off pitches, taking some walks, to have good, quality at-bats. The outcome will be the outcome, whether it’s a hit or an out. But we’re looking at approach, his comfort level. We’re going to look at the quality of the at-bats early on rather than the outcome, and his ability to be comfortable against major-league pitching.”
Dominguez has a minor-league average of just .257.
But last season, when he hit .252 at Double A Jacksonville, he was in the process of making adjustments to his hitting approach, lowering his hands and spreading his legs. As the season progressed and Dominguez became more comfortable with his new stance, his hitting improved.
His hitting late in the season was a big reason why Jacksonville won the Double A championship.
Adjusting his swing
“The swing has completely changed, and he did it kind of on the fly last year,” said Tim Leiper, his minor-league manager each of the past two seasons. “If you look at the film of where he started two years ago and where he is now, you wouldn’t even recognize him. He was diving into the ball. Now, his swing is a lot quieter — a lot less movement — and he’s able to leverage some balls up.”
Leiper was impressed with how Dominguez was able to adjust to his new stance and improve on it as the season progressed.
“Every month he got continually better,” Leiper said. “At the end of the season, he was anchoring our lineup.”
Perez has also marveled at Dominguez’s sneaky power. Dominguez has averaged 15 home runs over the past three seasons.
“I saw him hit a ball over the scoreboard in Jacksonville last season,” Perez said. “He’s got some pop.”
The Marlins will settle for someone who can hold his own in the lineup. If Dominguez makes the team, he will likely bat eighth.
He’ll have his chance
Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez plans to make extensive use of Dominguez this spring.
As a result, Dominguez could end up with more at-bats than any other player on the Marlins.
“I’m excited,” said Dominguez, who showed up three weeks before the official start of spring training to get in extra work in the batting cages. “But I’m just trying to go in and stay relaxed, just play my game. I’ve been looking forward to it, looking to show that I can hit big-league pitching.
“A lot of people have a question about my bat. But I know that I’m going to hit with confidence.”
By Clark Spencer
cspencer@MiamiHerald.com
Step back to the 1960s. Across the state in Tampa, the Cincinnati Reds have their eye on a young talent they are counting on to be their third baseman.
He is Tony Perez. He was young and somewhat inexperienced.
Perez not only became the Reds’ third baseman early in his career, but also he went on to have a Hall of Fame career.
Now fast-forward to the present. The Marlins have their eye on another young talent they are counting on to become their third baseman of the future, if not immediately.
He is Matt Dominguez. He is 21. He is an unproven rookie.
“Yeah,” Perez said, laughing. “But he can pick it much better than me. That’s why they moved me to first eventually. I’ve seen him play, and he’s a natural at third.”
Few dispute that Dominguez is gifted with the glove.
Perez, now a front-office assistant with the Marlins, has witnessed it with his own eyes, watching with interest as Dominguez has steadily worked his way up the minor-league ladder after the Marlins took him with their first pick — 12th overall — in the 2007 draft.
Wes Helms, the Marlins’ veteran utility corner infielder, noticed it instantly during each of the previous two spring trainings, when Dominguez was nothing more than an invite with no chance of making the club.
“Defensively, in my opinion, he would be in the top defenders in the league at third base right now,” Helms said.
Even Dominguez, modest and soft-spoken, figures he can play the hot corner in the majors at this very moment.
“I think defensively I’m ready,” he said.
Question mark at plate
But, of course, there is the other part of the equation that Dominguez and everyone else knows must be mastered, the part that will decide whether he starts the season with the Marlins or in the minors.
It’s the one aspect of his game that will be watched closest when the Grapefruit League games start Monday.
Beginning then, all eyes will be on his bat.
If Dominguez hits, he sticks.
If he fails the audition, it’s off to Triple A New Orleans.
But the Marlins are giving Dominguez every opportunity to win the job. They want his glove to help improve a defense that has contributed to the Marlins giving up the most unearned runs in the majors over the past five seasons.
They’re not expecting Dominguez to hit like Perez did during his playing days. They’re just looking for him to hold his own against major-league pitching.
As such, Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said more attention will be given to how Dominguez looks at the plate this spring than on his numbers.
“I want to see the at-bats,” Beinfest said. “I want to see pitch recognition. I want to see him fouling off pitches, taking some walks, to have good, quality at-bats. The outcome will be the outcome, whether it’s a hit or an out. But we’re looking at approach, his comfort level. We’re going to look at the quality of the at-bats early on rather than the outcome, and his ability to be comfortable against major-league pitching.”
Dominguez has a minor-league average of just .257.
But last season, when he hit .252 at Double A Jacksonville, he was in the process of making adjustments to his hitting approach, lowering his hands and spreading his legs. As the season progressed and Dominguez became more comfortable with his new stance, his hitting improved.
His hitting late in the season was a big reason why Jacksonville won the Double A championship.
Adjusting his swing
“The swing has completely changed, and he did it kind of on the fly last year,” said Tim Leiper, his minor-league manager each of the past two seasons. “If you look at the film of where he started two years ago and where he is now, you wouldn’t even recognize him. He was diving into the ball. Now, his swing is a lot quieter — a lot less movement — and he’s able to leverage some balls up.”
Leiper was impressed with how Dominguez was able to adjust to his new stance and improve on it as the season progressed.
“Every month he got continually better,” Leiper said. “At the end of the season, he was anchoring our lineup.”
Perez has also marveled at Dominguez’s sneaky power. Dominguez has averaged 15 home runs over the past three seasons.
“I saw him hit a ball over the scoreboard in Jacksonville last season,” Perez said. “He’s got some pop.”
The Marlins will settle for someone who can hold his own in the lineup. If Dominguez makes the team, he will likely bat eighth.
He’ll have his chance
Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez plans to make extensive use of Dominguez this spring.
As a result, Dominguez could end up with more at-bats than any other player on the Marlins.
“I’m excited,” said Dominguez, who showed up three weeks before the official start of spring training to get in extra work in the batting cages. “But I’m just trying to go in and stay relaxed, just play my game. I’ve been looking forward to it, looking to show that I can hit big-league pitching.
“A lot of people have a question about my bat. But I know that I’m going to hit with confidence.”
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