By Frankie Piliere

We’ve been talking about a lot of sure fire (if such a prospect exists) players as of late. But, in my opinion, scouting gets even more interesting when you are evaluating wildcard type players. Chris Dominguez, a physically massive slugger from the University of Louisville, is one of those players. Chris has always been a player of great intrigue to me tools wise and I thought I’d share my evaluation of him with you. Check it out after the jump…

(Chris Dominguez photo credit: University of Louisville)

Chris Dominguez, 3B - Harwich Mariners (Louisville)
Tool - Present/Future Grades

Hitting - 40/40

Power - 70/70

Speed - 50/50

Fielding - 45/45

Arm - 70/70

Physical Description - Massive frame, every bit of what he’s listed as. Looks very athletic despite his size. Wide shoulders, highly muscled up and down, thin waist. Tapered frame. True physical specimen. Built similar to Troy Glaus.

Hitting - On anything without a wrinkle in it or that isn’t on the outer half. Hits the ball exceptionally hard, has a special sound in his bat. Crushes the ball. Has a gaping hole on the outer half of the plate and struggles badly with off-speed pitches, breaking balls in particular. Pulls of badly, tries to yank everything. Has yet to learn how to hit the opposite way. Very quick and can turn on any fastball. Extremely prone to the strikeout. BP hitter right now, all or nothing in live action. Does not recognize the breaking ball.

Power - Special power, light tower power. Hits the ball a long way with minimal effort. Needs to put bat on ball more. Power is game-usable but he needs to make more contact. Puts on a spectacle in BP. Plus, plus power guy. Can hit one out in any part of the park in any dimensions. Most power is to center field.

Speed - Just about an average runner. Size limits his agility and mobility. Speed is more than adequate considering his position. Superb athletic skills but just not exceptionally fleet of foot. Speed may decrease over time considering his large frame.

Fielding - Not the quickest feet, decent hands but not a lot of range. Makes the routine plays, not going to be spectacular. Lacks quickness, and as he gets older and thicker he may move to first base, right field or DH. He doesn’t figure to be a real mobile player down the road.

Arm - Plus, plus arm. Threw mid-90’s from the mound in high school. Good throwing mechanics, throws right over the top and makes the throws from the third base with easy. Accurate arm. Likes to show off his arm, can be a bit reckless. If he can maintain some of his mobility, his arm would play perfectly in right field.

Notes - Very raw product but the potential is very visible. Needs a lot of work. Potential to be an impact big league slugger with some refinement. Two plus-plus tools. An interesting project but a big risk, his bat is far from a sure thing.

Adjusted Overall Future Potential: 53
Present Group: P, Future Group: C
Projected Role: 6th to 7th hitter in the order, starting player with low average, big power.
Draft Projection: 3rd-4th round
Overall Comparison: Wily Mo Pena

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