Chris Dominguez, OF. DOB: 11/22/1986. 6'5", 235 lbs. B-R, T-R.
AA: .223/.254/.303, 2 HR, 7 BB, 50 K's in 223 AB.
AA: .247/.264/.362, 3 HR, 2 BB, 47 K's in 174 AB.
AFL: .317/.364/.585, 3 HR, 2 BB, 17 K's in 41 AB.
Chris Dominguez probably has the biggest raw power in the entire Giants organization. The problem is the ball is not going anywhere unless it makes contact with the bat first! The Giants liberated Dominguez from Richmond around mid-season, probably in hopes that a change of scenery and a more favorable hitting environment in Fresno might get his bat going. While his line in Fresno was marginally better, it was not enough to make you think he is anywhere near ready to jump to the majors.
He has a plus-plus defensive throwing arm but is a lumberer on the field. You really hate to give up on the power, but it might be time for him to start thinking about trying his luck on the mound.
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This eternal optimist will be meditating on his AFL numbers (minus the K's) until zazen is over.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the sound of one bat hitting the ball...Chris D needs to work on this.
DeleteWith a .476 BABIP in the AFL, hard to imagine that he is going to be able to keep that up in any league other than maybe Little League.
DeleteThe key is being selective and staying positive during zazen. Block out the K's and all that other stuff. Thus, it was suggested to take out the K's. Plowing through everything will actually hinder the meditation.
DeleteYou have to take AFL numbers with a grain of salt. A lot of prospects are gassed. Posey sure was. They sent Brown home sick his first year. Dominguez contact issues and inability to recognize breaking balls is legendary at this point.
DeleteI've been routing for Dominguez. I like homegrown power. But being a 26 year old who strikes out 40% of the time in the AFL probably doesn't have a real promising future.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I read a recent article about Predictive FIP's for minor league pitchers. I'm not sure I put any stock in it at all, but for what it's worth, Giants prospect Clayton Blackburn came out on top for Low A pitchers.
ReplyDeletevery interesting article: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/2012-minor-league-leaders-in-predictive-fip-part-2/
Deletewriter was very upfront about how this is more a thought exercise than a useful tool to use. He also noted that analysis below AA is not done by some analysts (Shandler's Baseball Forecaster is one of the proponents of that thought).
Also: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/2012-minor-league-leaders-in-predictive-fip-part-1/
The first part had Petit in AAA and Heston and Maday from AA, named.
The part I liked best was the quote from Mike Fast about pitchers in the lower levels of the minors (in part 2), about how at that stage, there are still a lot of pitchers who are not very good at preventing hits, whereas once you get close to the majors, they have that rough, general skill, similar to the others, of hit prevention. I plan on reading that interview with Fast linked there, at some point, but thought I should point out that interesting comment, which rings true for me.
First off, thank you so much for this blog. I don't comment frequently but I have read all of your profiles on our prospects and appreciate all the time and research you share.
ReplyDeleteMy question is if you think Dominguez has a legitimate chance at being a pitcher this late in his development. I know he has a live arm but isn't it a little late for him to make such a major transition? Or was he highly regarded as a pitcher as well when he was drafted but the Giants chose to try to develop his power?
Thanks, Ben.
DeleteI don't know that Dominguez has ever been a pitcher, but with an arm like that, I would be surprised if he hasn't fooled around with it. Yes, it would be very much a longshot, but maybe not as long as his chances of fixing his contact issues at the plate.
According to this article, Dominguez started out as a pitcher in college, but was switched to 3B after his sophomore season.
Deletehttp://sfgiants.scout.com/2/1178825.html
I seem to recall that several teams considered him a better pitching prospect than a hitting prospect, but I can't find those articles.
Rick Ankiel switched to OF relatively late. Also, the Padres have toyed with converting Micah Owing to a potion player as well.
ReplyDeletea potion player: will he join Harry Potter in the bowl-pen?
DeleteGiants have history of switching failed position players with arms to pitchers. Joe Nathan was the biggest success of that, I recall at least one other guy, whose name fails me (both were shortstops though). Not that Dominguez could be as good as Nathan, but that later start didn't seem to hurt Nathan's career as a pitcher.
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