It’s a bittersweet symphony this life… Okay, I’ll spare you the drama, but this is the final pro edition of my Live Looks series in 2021. Man, it’s been a hell of a season. I can’t tell you how happy I was to get back out to the park after not seeing live baseball for well over a year. And as has been noted a time or two, I made the most of it and got to the park A LOT this year and it was truly a blast. Yes, writing the reports, cutting the video, and doing everything that comes along with the content creation aspect of this gig does become a grind after a while, but when I’m at the park, I’m still just a kid enamored with the game. There’s just something about a freshly prepped field with a backdrop of sunshine and blue skies. Thank you all for coming along for the ride with me and I hope my write-ups have been both entertaining and informative. Okay, now to the action on the field - and we close out the year with a bang!
OF Jasson Dominguez
The one, the only… The Martian. Yes, I was lucky enough to catch a few games of Dominguez live and in-person to close out the 2021 Low-A regular season and yes, I can confirm that he is in fact real. There’s a lot to unpack here regarding one of baseball’s most famous prospects, so I’m going to break this into a few sections to lay it all out for you.
The Body
Dominguez’s frame and build have been the hottest of hot topics ever since videos of him hit the internet last summer that made him look closer to NFL All-Pro Aaron Donald than to any baseball player. There’s simply no way around this: The body is not what you would expect for a guy billed as the Next Big Thing in baseball. He’s short and he’s thick (Cut to 17-year old me doing my best Dumb & Dumber impression “So you’re saying there’s a chance!”). He’s built much more like a running back than your typical 5-tool centerfield prospect. All that said, Dominguez is strong, twitchy, and explosive -- and faster than he looks. While I didn’t get any home-to-first times, I did see him leg out a double and range all over centerfield. The speed is there - at least for now - and sits in the neighborhood of plus.
The Bat
There’s thunder in the bat, without a doubt. The bat speed is lightning-fast and really whips through the zone. Any time he squares up the ball, it has that ‘different’ sound off the bat that true power hitters have. Everything looks pull-heavy right now, but there’s more than enough pop for all-fields power. The bat speed, strength, and explosiveness give him a good shot at 7 raw when all is said and done. The questions all lie with the hit tool, which appears to be a good bit less polished than I would have guessed based on the reports that had rolled in since Dominguez signed. That’s why we don’t put full faith and trust in team-backed information - they have no incentive to give you anything but sunshine and rainbows. It was all highs and lows for him in Fort Myers as I don’t think he whiffed once in the first game of the series, but went on to whiff quite a bit in the remaining games. He had good knowledge of the zone and didn’t chase too much, though he still ended the series with more Ks than times on base. There’s plenty of work to be done when it comes to consistent contact, but the tools are loud as can be and he’s just 18 and a half playing against guys in their early 20s. Be patient.
The Glove
At first glance, you’d be more likely to put Dominguez behind home plate than centerfield, but you’d be mistaken in doing so. In the field is where Dominguez impressed me the most. That’s likely in part due to my lack of expectations, but he was good, nonetheless. His reads and instincts in center really stood out and should make him an above-average defender no matter where he ultimately settles in the outfield. I’m a strong believer he can handle center for most of his career assuming he doesn’t add more weight. Dominguez takes direct routes and covers ground with ease and boasts a solid arm to round out the defensive profile.
The Martian
All in all, no actual human being could ever live up to the hype that Jasson Dominguez has gotten at the start of his career. Anything short of Mike Trout or Mickey Mantle or Barry Bonds would surely be seen as a disappointment to many and bluntly, that’s stupid. Dominguez really does have the tools to be a superstar centerfielder than anchors the middle of a lineup, but it’s hardly a guarantee he develops enough and maintains all the athleticism needed to get there. It’s much more likely that he turns into an above-average, All-Star caliber player. One thing to keep in mind is that between the swing and miss and body, the profile is quite a bit riskier than originally made out to be and there’s a nonzero chance that he turns into a thick, power-hitting corner outfielder with strikeout issues and resembles more of an average regular than an All-Star. Medium-risk, high-reward.
SS Trey Sweeney
Sweeney was a data-driven popup prospect during the late stages of the 2021 draft cycle and he carried that momentum over into his pro debut with Tampa. He’s a solid athlete who can handle short for now, but more than likely will slide to third at physical maturity since he projects to outgrow his athleticism as he adds more power. The swing is aggressive and powerful from the left side, backed up by his 6 HRs and .273 ISO in 129 Low-A plate appearances. He swings hard, but does a good job of making contact and barreling up the baseball with a swing path notched between steep and flat. I was impressed with how well he transitioned to pro ball after spending his college days at Eastern Illinois and wouldn’t be surprised if he made his way to Double-A in 2022 if he starts the year strong in High-A. There’s a chance he turns into a middle of the order bat with power in the bat and good on-base skills.
C Antonio Gomez
The first thing you notice about Gomez is that he looks like a catcher. He’s got shorter legs and a longer torso and he’s just not very athletic in the typical sense despite his lean build. The next thing you notice is that he’s got a cannon attached to his right shoulder -- Gomez easily had one of the strongest arms I’ve seen all year, maybe the strongest. Every ball he threw was a frozen rope with little effort. I clocked multiple sub-2.00 throws down to second and throws in the 1.50 range to the corners. I didn’t love him behind the plate where he looked a little sloppy blocking and receiving, but he’s also 19-years old and catching takes a while to master. More of a nitpick than a true concern at the moment. He looked a little overmatched at the plate, but not lost. He put together some good at-bats and put the ball in play, but it was clear he needed some more time to adjust to the higher level of pitching. All in all, he fits the mold of the robo-era catcher: a big arm with potential to be a solid contributor at the plate.
2B Cooper Bowman
The Louisville man had the best series of anyone on the Tampa roster. Bowman came out of the gate hot and ended the series with 5 hits over 4 games, including a triple. The swing is a flat, line-drive oriented cut that packs some punch -- it seemed like every time he made contact, it was on the barrel and well-struck. He’s at least an average athlete and showed a solid first-step and good range up the middle while manning the keystone with enough arm strength to be serviceable on the left side of the infield. Bowman wasn’t one of the more heralded college players coming out of the draft, but he’s certainly got my attention after this series as a solid, all-around player.
1B Anthony Garcia
Garcia is a #MassiveHuman who looked larger than the list 6’5”, 204 pounds. The calling card here is big time raw power that feels like an easy 6 at present with potential for a 7 or 8 at physical maturity. There was quite a bit of swing and miss in the 2 games I caught him and he ran a 37% K-rate over 68 PAs in Low-A, but Garcia still managed to hit .291 with a 19% walk rate in that same short stint. Yes, quite a “3 true outcomes” profile right there. Garcia’s production this year is confirmation that his ridiculous power plays in games -- he homered in 9% of his PAs this season as a 20-year old. Obviously, you want to see how he looks over the course of a full season, but there’s a lot to like here so far.