Sunday, February 6, 2011

Down on the Farm: DrB's 2011 Giants Top 50 Prospects- #24 Chris Dominguez

#24 Chris Dominguez, 3B. BD: 11/22/1986. 6'3", 215 lbs. B-R, T-R.

Low A: .272/.326/.456, 32 2B, 4 3B, 21 HR, 14 SB. PWL: .357/.438/.500 in 28 AB.

Chris Dominguez was the other prospect at Augusta with "light tower" power. After starting out 2009 red hot after the draft and then struggling mightily at Salem-Keizer, I really thought a BA down below the Mendoza line was a possibility in 2010. I kept waiting for him to go into his terminal slump and he never did, staying quite consistent throughout the season. He's old for his level, but power hitters sometimes develop late. He'll have to keep proving it at every level and time is not on his side, but the ceiling is pretty high.

His other major asset is his throwing arm which some scouts think is the best of any 3'rd base prospect. I suppose there is always pitching if he can't keep up with the hitting. He is somebody who steadily improved in college and showed improvement in his second pro season too, so I wouldn't count him out just yet.

I expect Chris to be the starting 3B in San Jose this year.

5 comments:

  1. If he can keep putting up power numbers and his BA over .270 I think we will see him soon in SF. Look at the difference in home runs between 2009 and 2010 (122 to 162) and the difference it made in getting us to the playoffs and winning it all. I see him possibly being a factor in 2012 if he keeps hitting. If Panda reverts back to pre 2010 form then maybe we will see him at first and Belt in the outfield. Otherwise, he might just steal 3rd from Panda.

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  2. I think Dominguez is another interesting prospect to keep an eye on because of his tremendous power. I bet the fans in San Jose won't go to the concession stand while he's hitting, fearing they might miss a homerun! If he can make some refinemints in his hitting and improve his numbers in 2011, who knows. Maybe, he'll turn out to be a slugger with a low batting average in the Dave Kingman/Rob Deer mode.

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  3. The SO/BB is concerning for a 23 yo in low A, but 57 XBH means in Augusta means a good chance at 30+ HR in the CAL league. That doesn't mean he'll be any good, it just is what it is.

    If anything, I hope he gets moved to AA by midseason (no one blocking him there anyway), as SJ will do nothing for his development outside of a confidence boost.

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  4. Thanks for the comments everybody! I really thought, given his age and coming out of a respected college program, Chris should have been moved up to SJ around mid-season last year which might have set him up to start this year in AA. I'm guessing the Giants have some of the same concerns about him that we all do and didn't want to risk interrupting his momentum down there. I pretty much agree that between Augusta and SJ, the most important thing is to get AB's rather than which level it's at.

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  5. As nicely as his numbers look, he was only 38th in the Sally in OPS, and he was older than most of the players there, so he had an advantage over most players there. He was second in HR, but again, older than most players there.

    He basically will have to prove himself at every level. And apparently his range at 3B is not that great, and it will be even worse for him in terms of making the majors if he's playing 1B.

    I think he will start out in San Jose and if he hits well enough, like Brandon Crawford did, will get jumped to AA by May/June. If he finishes the year in San Jose, then I would not have high hopes for him anymore, at 24 he should dominate in CAL, where average pitcher is 23 YO. And he's an "old" 24, he'll be nearly 25 by the time the season ends. And by dominate, I'm talking 950+ OPS, else he probably won't be able to hit well enough to keep a starting job in the majors.

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