A Look at Matt Dominguez

Dave has another Marlins-related post up at NBCMiami.com. Today he writes about how third baseman Matt Dominguez is close to nailing down the starting job and a big league roster spot.

The Marlins third baseman of the future may be progressing ahead of schedule. Speculation is growing that Matt Dominguez, the Marlins' 2007 first-round draft pick could make the team out of Spring Training and man the hot corner for the Fish.

"If the season opened today, Dominguez would be in the starting lineup," Joe Frisaro of MLB.com wrote in a Tuesday blog post. According to Frisaro, Dominguez has played stellar defense in Spring Training, which is no surprise given his reputation as a defensive wizard.

Frisaro also wrote that Dominguez "is walking and acting like he belongs" in the major leagues, but you could say that about most prospects in Spring Training.

He then goes on to discuss his numbers in the small sample size of Spring Training thus far. And of course no Marlins article written by Dave or I can be complete without mentioning that Emilio Bonifacio is bad at baseball.

Even so, it is worth remembering that the Marlins kept Emilio Bonifacio in the starting lineup for most of 2009, despite posting one of the worst on-base percentages in the majors.

I have to agree with Dave and Joe Frisaro that Dominguez is pretty close to winning the job and can start thinking about what his walkup music will be at SunLife Stadium. Not just the Marlins, but practically all MLB teams have a player that regularly starts that just doesn't offer much in the way of hitting. Most of the times, they are good defensive players. Best former Marlins example: Alex Gonzalez. Having stellar defense and saving runs on the field is just as important as contributing runs at the plate.

For a far more in-depth preview at what Dominguez might offer, check out MarlinManiac's Third Base Preview from last month.