Fresh Face Elevates Chatsworth’s Offense

It’s easy to pick out the 14-year-old freshman batting cleanup for Chatsworth’s unbeaten baseball team.

Matt Dominguez is the one who doesn’t have a whisker on his chin. He giggles when someone asks when he’ll be shaving.

Give him a bat, though, and he’ll leave seniors staring in envy.

After eight games, he’s batting .429 with four doubles, two home runs and a team-leading 10 runs batted in.

Coach Tom Meusborn, coming off a national championship season, didn’t hesitate to put a freshman in the No. 4 spot in the batting order.

“He’s a pretty special kid,” Meusborn said.

All winter, Dominguez was given the chance to make the varsity. He played so well at third base that he became the starter.

“He may physically look like a freshman, but in mind-set and bat speed, he’s no freshman,” assistant coach P.C. Shaw said.

Aiding Matt’s quick transition to the high school ranks has been his brother, Jason, a two-time All-City selection who starts in center field and is Chatsworth’s No. 1 pitcher. When Jason was a freshman on varsity, his oldest brother, Danny, an All-City catcher, provided guidance and support. Now Jason is doing the same for Matt.

“It’s awesome,” Jason said. “It’s good to see him do so well.”

Added Matt: “It’s fun to see your brother in the same dugout and fun to play on the same team with him. He’s given me a lot of advice. It’s real nice to have him around.”

Jason said Matt is treated like a teammate.

“He’s got a funny personality,” Jason said. “Guys like him. He’s a bit of a goofball.”

There was a time between the ages of 11 and 12 when Matt was “obsessed” with skateboarding and enjoyed it more than baseball. His parents hoped he’d grow out of skateboarding, and he did. He’s 6 feet, 165 pounds and his body keeps changing.

During the summer, he was so slow running the bases that if he hit a ground ball to shortstop, the infielder could count to three and still have time to throw him out. But his speed picked up as his body matured. In the season opener against San Fernando, he was fast enough to get a triple.

The most competitive part of the season for the Dominguez brothers starts today with Chatsworth’s West Valley League opener at Woodland Hills El Camino Real.

Most opposing coaches are unfamiliar with Matt’s skills, but El Camino Real Coach Matt LaCour is a former Chatsworth assistant who has known Dominguez since he started showing up to summer camps as an 11-year-old.

“He was always the best player for his age,” LaCour said. “Everybody knew he was going to be a player. He’s a physical freshman who can hit the ball.”

And LaCour is an expert on the phenomenon of younger brothers becoming the best players in their families. His youngest brother, Bryan, was an All-City infielder at Chatsworth and received a scholarship to Stanford.

“Isn’t that the way it goes with younger brothers?” LaCour said. “Growing up in the Dominguez house, going outside and tossing the ball around, you have Danny and Jason, who were pretty good players, and it’s going to rub off. Matt has developed faster than those guys.”

One day, Matt could become the third Dominguez brother to earn All-City honors.

And his presence seems to be inspiring Pepperdine-bound Jason in the hitting department. After Matt hit his first home run, Jason followed with one in the same game. Jason hit a home run last week, and Matt followed with one in the next game.

Jason is Chatsworth’s all-time leader in home runs with 20, but he knows that record won’t last very long with Matt around.

“Honestly, the way he’s going, I can hit 20 this year and he’ll still pass me,” Jason said.

What’s impressive about the Dominguez brothers is their calmness and composure during games. They don’t get rattled and rarely show emotion.

“We’re not big talkers on the field,” Matt said. “We just go out and play.”

Sometimes it’s difficult to provoke a reaction from the brothers, particularly in the morning. Jason drives Matt to school, and you’d think baseball might come up as a subject.

“We’re not usually awake at that time,” Matt said. “We’re kind of quiet and listening to music.”

Meanwhile, speculation grows when Matt will finally get the chance to shave.

“Around 2010,” Jason said.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.