Johan Dominguez
6´4´´
190 pounds
Throws: Right
Age: 23
SSS rank among all right-handed relievers in the system: 14
Another righty-reliever on our top 100 list is Dominguez, who was signed by the Brewers as an international free agent in 2016 and got into action later that year. With the DSL Brewers, Dominguez switched between being a starter and reliever throughout the season and did very well, with a 2.55 FIP in 58 1⁄3 innings. Dominguez showed decent command of the zone, with a 16.2% K/BB rate, which he carried over to 2017.
However, after starting three of his four games for 17 innings in 2017, Dominguez’s season seemed to have been cut short; he did not pitch after June 21. (In 2018, Dominguez again started out in the DSL, this time as a full-time reliever, which would indicate his 2017 season was cut short due to injury).
There are two main takeaways from Dominguez’s stellar 2018. First, he started in the DSL and earned a promotion to the States to play in the AZL. There, he pitched 19 1⁄3 innings, including two saves, while not allowing a run. That earned him another promotion, to the Helena Brewers. Then, he was acquired by the White Sox as part of the Xavier Cedeño deal, so he moved to his fourth new team, Great Falls.
From the Dominican, to Arizona, to Helena, and finally to Great Falls, a total of 35 innings pitched, Dominguez only allowed three total runs with 40 strikeouts and just 13 walks. All that while getting his first taste American culture and getting paid less than a livable wage to move four times. Salary injustice aside, Dominguez really did do well in 2018, well enough that he deserves to start with Kannapolis and hopefully continue to move around a bunch — eventually to the big leagues. But he does still have a ways to go.
Dominguez did not allow a single home run in 2018, which is strange for his batted ball profile. He allowed more fly balls than ground balls, but also induced a decently high percentage of infield flies. That could mean inexperienced rookie league batters were just missing, or, probably more the case, Dominguez was able to fool hitters.
Again, Dominguez has good command on the zone, but hitters also hit a lot of batted balls to the opposite field against him, with very few were squared up to center. That most likely indicates batters could just not read Dominguez’s pitches well, and were likely late in their swings — a good sign for a guy who seems to be a fly ball pitcher.
2019 South Side Sox Top 100 Prospects
89. Johan Dominguez, RHRP
90. Mitch Roman, 2B
91. Ty Greene, C
92. Tanner Banks, LHSP
93. Jake Elliott, RHRP
94. Kevin Escorcia, LHRP
95. Luis Rodriguez, RHSP
96. Ian Dawkins, LF
97. Victor Diaz, RHRP
98. Travis Moniot, LF
99. Will Kincanon, RHRP
100. Brian Clark, LHRP