Seranthony Dominguez

Stats: MiLB | B-Ref | Fangraphs | Baseball America | Baseball Prospectus | MLBFarm

[section=Reports and Scouting:]

2018 Preseason (14)
Risk: High – Theoretically, Dominguez’s skill set fits perfectly into a bullpen, and with his fastball and slider combination, he should be impactful in the majors quickly. It is all theory, as Dominguez has only really relieved in winter ball and has yet to actually pitch above Clearwater.
Summary: Seranthony Dominguez has always had a good fastball, but 2017 saw him take the pitch to a new level. In his first appearance of the year, Dominguez’s fastball was up to 98, setting a precedent for his next starts, where he sat 94-97, touching 98-99. That 7 game run would be the highlight of the year for Dominguez, as he struck out 45 in 35.2 innings. On May 13, a flexor injury put his season on hold for two months. When Dominguez came back, his velocity was intact, but his control was not. Dominguez is more than just a fastball. His slider is a future plus pitch, and he has shown inconsistent feel for an above average changeup. Unfortunately for Dominguez, 2017 was yet another year where injury prevented him from reaching the 80 innings mark as a starter. After putting a timetable on his major league arrival by adding him to the 40 man roster this offseason, the Phillies decided to kill two birds with one stone and move him from starter to reliever, effective immediately. The move puts a hit on his overall ceiling, as his fastball and slider gave him high end upside, but it is also a move that his lack of durability had long hinted at. There is little data on Dominguez as a reliever, so we are left mostly to project his future. Dominguez’s fastball should play up in relief, and it is not hard to see him hitting 100 with a wipeout slider. He should be able to pitch multiple innings at a time in the model of what teams are prioritizing as high leverage relievers. In a more traditional bullpen concept, he has the stuff to be a shutdown closer. The only problem is that not everyone with his stuff makes it to that role. Phillies fans have seen injuries and wildness blunt the growth of Alberto Tirado, Phillippe Aumont, and Jimmy Cordero, in just the same way that raw stuff allowed Ken Giles to arrive in the majors in a blink. With Dominguez on the 40 man roster, we will get to see what Dominguez’s transition looks like against major league batters early in Spring Training.
2018 Outlook: The Phillies have announced that Dominguez is moving to the bullpen to start the year, so that means Reading for opening day. The model for a reliever accelerating to the majors is Ken Giles, who had no upper minors experience before pitching 28.2 innings between AA and AAA on his way to the majors in 2014. Dominguez has that kind of talent, but given his injury history and everything that can go wrong, it is unlikely he moves quite that quickly.

2017 Midseason (12)
If you had asked in the middle of May who the Phillies’ biggest breakout prospect was, there is a chance that Dominguez would have surpassed Sixto Sanchez. The short right hander was throwing his fastball at 94-98 and was touching 99, up from the 93-96 he had been the previous season. He showed a future plus slider and above average changeup. Dominguez’s command wasn’t spectacular, but he was pounding the strike zone with all of his offerings. Unfortunately he suffered a bicep injury in mid-May and missed the next two months. Since coming back, Dominguez has seen his velocity stay up (he has been mostly 95-97), but his control and feel for his offspeed pitches have not been there. If Dominguez can refind the feel for his secondary pitches, he could be a #3 or better starting pitcher. If the control continues to be spotty, he could eventually move to the bullpen, where he profiles as a high leverage reliever.

2017 Preseason (24)
Risk: High – Dominguez has the three pitch mix and fastball control to stay in the rotation. However, Dominguez has yet to pitch a full season workload, and his secondary pitches are more ideas than finished products.
Summary: Dominguez’s name first came up in 2015, when he was up to 96 in Extended Spring Training. He made only 2 appearances in the GCL before going down with an injury. The Phillies held Dominguez back in Extended Spring Training again in 2016. In the beginning of the season, the reports on Dominguez were exciting, with him showing the same explosive fastball at 92-96, a potential plus curveball, and feel for an above average changeup. The Phillies sent him north with Williamsport, but after 3 starts, he was bumped up to Lakewood to close out the season. After a rough first start (5 ER in 1.2 IP), Dominguez put up a 1.54 ERA over his next 9 starts. Dominguez is still raw as a pitcher, and much of his dominance comes from his fastball. his offspeed pitches are still more of backseat offerings, despite their potential. Seranthony will also need to transition from fastball control to fastball command, as he still misses his spots in the strike zone. At the high end, Dominguez looks like a mid rotation starter with 3 plus pitches, but his flaws and his height will get him a lot of reliever comps as he continues to progress through the system.

2016 Midseason
The buzz around Seranthony Dominguez started this spring when he was up to 95 in front of scouts and evaluators on Spring Training backfields. The velocity was not new for Seranthony who was up to 95 last spring as well before getting hurt early in the GCL season. It is not just about the velocity for the right handed pitchers who also is showing improved control and the making of solid secondary pitches. It was a bit of a wait to see what Dominguez could do as the Phillies limited his workload by sending him to Williamsport rather than full season ball. He moved quickly on the Lakewood where the results have been mixed due to occasionally shaky command. Dominguez has relatively few innings for a 21 year old in their 5th season so there is still a lot of work still to be done. If he can master his command and see his secondary pitches step forward, he could be a mid rotation starter, but it is also not hard to see a future path that is in a bullpen if any part of his game does not improve.

2016 Preseason
Dominguez is another small guy who can hit the mid 90s with his fastball.  He was up to 96 this spring in Extended Spring Training.  He only pitched in two games this summer so it is hard to know where he stands going forward.  His control has been poor, so the raw velocity might not be enough to carry him.

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[section=Video:]

How about this yakker from Seranthony Dominguez to finish off a K the other day? pic.twitter.com/1J5Q1LLjI4

— Josh Norris 🐻 (@jnorris427) August 17, 2017

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[section=Articles:]

• Phillies Minor Thoughts
• How Seranthony Dominguez’s Path to Majors Could Mimic Ken Giles’

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[section=Transactions]

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[section=Injuries]

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