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MLB Draft: Marlins Take 3B Dominguez With 1st Pick

The Florida Marlins just made their 1st round pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. With the 12th pick the Marlins selected third baseman Matthew Dominguez from Chatsworth High School. Here is a breakdown of Dominguez’s skill set…

Hitting Ability: Good solid bat with power potential.
Power: Dominguez’s power grades out as average to a tick above, with some room for growth.
Running Speed: He’s fairly athletic, but speed isn’t one of his better tools.
Arm Strength: His arm graded out as average at the showcase.
Arm Accuracy: Again, an average skill, but he’s got enough arm to stay at third base.
Fielding: He’s played some shortstop in high school, but will be too big to stay there at the next level. He should be a capapble third baseman.
Baseball Instinct: Dominguez is a real “baseball player” who plays the game the right way.
Physical Description: Big, strong corner infield type with room for growth. Has drawn comparisons to Travis Fryman
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Bat, especially power. Dominguez showed a little more pop at the showcase than he had in the past.
Weaknesses: Tools. He’s solid average across the board, at least, but doesn’t have one skill that overwhelms.

Summary: While teammate Mike Moustakas has been getting more buzz lately because of his torrid home run pace, Dominguez’ skills should not be overlooked. He, too, can hit for power and should hit for average as well. At the same time, he’s considered to be one of the better defensive third baseman to come out of a draft in a long time. The whole package should make him a first round pick.

SporTech Take: He wasn’t the best player available at #12. One thing most people are going to worry about or wonder about is if this spells the end for Cabrera in a Marlins uni. Don’t worry, this kid is still in high school. Chances are he won’t sniff the majors for 4-6 years. By that time, who know’s where the Marlins will be. SI.com says this kid reminds them of Joe Crede. Not sure if that is a good thing.