Chatsworth Can Count on a Sure Thing
Everyone kept waiting last season for Matt Dominguez, a 14-year-old freshman third baseman for Chatsworth, to experience a moment of uncertainty.
It never happened.
From his first baseball game until the final one in the City championship game at Dodger Stadium, Dominguez turned in a performance unprecedented for a freshman in state history.
He finished with a .461 batting average, 53 hits, a stunning 65 runs batted in and eight home runs and helped Chatsworth go 35-0.
“He hit all pitchers, right-handers, left-handers, fastballs, breaking balls and sustained it over 35 games,” Chatsworth assistant coach P.C. Shaw said. “He didn’t have peaks and valleys.”
When the 2005 season begins on March 4, Dominguez will face the double-dose challenge of higher expectations and greater scrutiny.
“If I could duplicate last year, that would be awesome,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s going to happen. I’m going to play one game at a time and work my hardest. If I do it again, it will be exciting. My parents have talked to me about not putting too much pressure on myself.”
Dominguez was fortunate to have had two All-City players ahead of him in Chatsworth’s lineup. Leadoff batter Willie Cabrera set a state record for most hits in a season with 72. And Dominguez’s brother Jason, now at Pepperdine, was the City’s co-player of the year. Their absence will make Dominguez the primary target of opposing pitchers this season.
“He was able to get comfortable and sneak up on people,” Chatsworth Coach Tom Meusborn said. “This year, he won’t be able to do that. We’re telling him don’t try to do too much. We have other guys in the lineup that can play as well. We’re not going to ride his back and put that kind of pressure on him.”
But Dominguez encountered plenty of pressure situations last season and came through. In the season opener against hard-throwing Matt Nevarez of San Fernando, he had two hits. In a tournament game in Las Vegas, he hit a walk-off home run that preserved the Chancellors’ unbeaten season. At Dodger Stadium, he hit a fly ball that almost reached the left-field wall.
“He’s outstanding,” Meusborn said. “Was it a fluke? No. Can he do it again? He has the potential to do it. He’s got tremendous bat speed. There’s no question he’s going to continue to improve.”
At 6 feet 1, 180 pounds, Dominguez is only 15 and continuing to grow into his frame. He has benefited from following two older brothers, Jason and Danny, who were All-City players and taught him to never get too high after victories or too low after defeats.
“You can’t really get down on yourself in baseball because it will carry over, and you’ll be stuck in a big hole that’s hard to get yourself out of,” he said. “You play one game at a time.”
Dominguez’s father, Fernando, was born in Cuba and immigrated to Southern California with his parents and two younger siblings when he was 12. Dominguez’s mother, Cindy, was a softball pitcher at Reseda and used to catch Matt in the backyard.
Together, they have been adamant that Matt enjoy every minute of his high school days and not be in a hurry to impress scouts. That means he has avoided attending showcases, doesn’t play for a scout team and didn’t try out for the junior national team last summer when he was eligible.
“He and the family keep things in perspective,” Meusborn said. “They’re very level-headed, grounded people taking it one step at a time. They’re going to let him enjoy his sophomore year and be a sophomore. Then they’re going to let him be a junior. Then they’re going to let him be a senior.
“They know the game and understand the ups and downs. They’re not in a hurry because they understand it’s a long haul.”
Trying to judge Dominguez this season will be difficult. There are few players to use as a barometer for what he accomplished as a freshman. Probably the closest comparison would be Kevin Farlow, a third baseman who led Granada Hills Kennedy to the City championship in 1986 and was named City player of the year as a sophomore.
Farlow earned a scholarship to Cal State Fullerton and played in the minor leagues, but he never duplicated his sophomore season.
Dominguez understands the challenge.
“If you’re feeling all the pressure from the hype about you, then you’re probably not going to do as well as you did before because you’re always worrying what people think of you,” he said. “You go out, have fun and whatever happens, happens.”
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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Diamond Standouts
A look at players to watch for the 2005 high school baseball season:
*--* PITCHERS Rk Player, School Yr. Comment 1 Ryan Tucker, Temple Sr. Was 11-1 with 0.41 ERA City 2 Chris Tillman, Jr. Ready to dominate Fountain Valley 3 Hector Rebago, Jr. USC wants him now Riverside Poly 4 Tommy Palica, Edison Sr. Left-hander who throws strikes 5 Jessie Costa, Magnolia Sr. A strikeout pitcher 6 Casey Haerther, Jr. Beat Trevor Plouffe Chaminade last year 7 Tanner Scheppers, Sr. Scouts buzzing over Dana Hills improvement 8 Matt Nevarez, San Sr. Has 92-mph fastball Fernando 9 Tyler Fick, Hart Sr. Left-hander who’s a warrior 10 Cole Hathcock, El Sr. Signed with UC Irvine Modena 11 Matt Wade, Villa Park Sr. UC Santa Barbara signee 12 Jake Rodriguez, Jr. Hard-throwing Whittier right-hander 13 Jason Novak, Agoura Sr. Throws three pitches for strikes 14 Brandt Hill, Dos Sr. Left-hander knows how Pueblos to pitch 15 Doug Blum, Capistrano Sr. Foot injury slowed Valley hard thrower 16 Ryan Dent, L.B. Wilson So. Cool, calm and effective 17 Brett Hambright, So. 2.35 ERA as a freshman Temescal Canyon 18 Kyle Bredenkamp, Sr. 6-5 right-hander Millikan improving 19 R. Dickmann, SO Notre Sr. Had an excellent summer Dame 20 Robert Stock, Agoura So. The Eric Gagne of prep closers 21 Bryce Stowell, La Sr. Pepperdine signee Habra 22 Rob Rasmussen, So. Won 13 games as a Pasadena Poly freshman 23 Justin Kuehn, Aliso Sr. Signed with Santa Clara Niguel 24 Jordan Brandt, El Sr. All-City honoree Camino Real 25 Jeff Roth, Ocean View Sr. Terrific two-way player 26 Eric Peevey, Rancho Sr. Had 0.43 ERA Alamitos 27 Steve Huff, Fullerton Sr. Went 7-1 with 2.89 ERA 28 Taylor King, Corona Sr. Was 11-3 as a junior Santiago 29 Sean Greer, Riverside Sr. Was 8-1 with 1.33 ERA King 30 Michael Manning, So. Won eight of nine as a Santa Barbara freshman 31 Justin Wheeler, Sr. A consistent, Lakewood dependable winner 32 Matt Daly, Esperanza Sr. Signed with Hawaii 33 Matt Dufour, El Dorado Sr. The Golden Hawks’ latest ace 34 John Bostwick, Sr. Coming off 7-1 season Moorpark 35 Steve Luna, Sylmar Sr. Big left-hander with potential 36 Kevin Bunch, Serrano Sr. 6-5 converted catcher has ability CATCHERS 1 Bryan Anderson, Simi Sr. Nobody wants to pitch Valley to him 2 Ryan Babineau, Sr. Hit 15 doubles last Etiwanda season 3 Landon Hernandez, Sr. He’s the big man on Desert Chpl campus 4 Cody Decker, Santa Sr. Has 18 career home runs Monica 5 Hank Conger, Jr. Already committed to Huntington Beach USC 6 Chris McMurray, Sr. All-South Coast choice Capistrano Valley as a junior 7 Dustin Garneau, San Sr. Athletic with a Pedro quarterback’s arm 8 Chris Hannick, So. One day, he could be Thousand Oaks the best 9 Tony Asaro, West Sr. Pepperdine signee Torrance 10 Mike Geiger, Garden Jr. Keeps getting better Grove 11 Sammy Donabedian, El Sr. Hits line drives to Cmno Rl all fields 12 Sam Wiley, Loyola Sr. A top hitter in the Mission League 13 Cody Dee, Moorpark Sr. Excellent defensive catcher 14 Francis Larson, Jr. Rising young prospect Esperanza 15 Brice Cutspec, Jr. 6-5 and hit seven home Westminster runs 16 Quintin Cate, San Sr. Signed with Cal Poly Luis Obispo SLO 17 Dale Solomon, Valley Sr. Hit .480 as a junior View 18 Danny Grubb, Orange Sr. Four-year starter Lutheran 19 Derek Junghanel, Sr. Returning all-leaguer Millikan 20 Jordan Alcantar, Sr. Hit .634 with 33 RBIs Venice FIRST BASEMEN 1 Thomas Milone, Saugus Sr. Hit .438 with 36 RBIs 2 A.J. Smith, Villa Park Sr. Three-year starter 3 D.J. Smith, Royal Sr. Top hitter from Marmonte League 4 Kevin Wason, Wstmtr. Sr. Four-year starter La Quinta 5 Cody Fierro, Newbury Jr. Has lots of power Park 6 Andrew Sanford, Costa Sr. Batted .473 Mesa 7 Tom Cassidy, Sr. Ready to become Chatsworth All-City player 8 Jon-Michael Sr. Should be Serra League Hattabaugh, B. Amat standout SECOND BASEMEN 1 Mike Torres, Mater Dei Sr. Signed with USC 2 Nick Tanos, Cypress Sr. League co-MVP 3 Mike Gilmartin, Crespi Sr. Signed with UC Irvine 4 Kevin Macdonald, Palm Jr. Good arm, good glove, Desert good bat 5 Corey Jones, Camarillo Sr. Batted .476 with 30 RBIs SHORTSTOPS 1 Brandon Laird, Sr. Standout two-way threat Wstmtr. La Quinta 2 Eddie Murray, Gahr Sr. Had 44 hits and .579 average 3 Nathan Bridges, Villa Jr. Hit 10 home runs last Park season 4 Dan Garcia, Nogales Jr. 56 RBIs as a sophomore 5 Justin Sellers, Marina Sr. Solid all-around player 6 Danny Espinosa, Mater Sr. Signed with Long Beach Dei State 7 Ryan Selden, Canyon Sr. Signed with Hawaii Springs 8 Matt Lopez, Palm Sr. Signed with Oklahoma Desert State 9 Jermain Curtis, Miller Sr. League MVP in 2004 10 Matt Valaika, Hart Jr. Fields, runs and hits 11 Chase D’Arnaud, Los Sr. He’s 6-2 and can hit Alamitos 12 Billy Pinkerton, Sr. Could be best in Arcadia Pacific League 13 Ben Orloff, Simi Sr. Might be best fielder Valley around 14 Ryan Aguayo, Servite Jr. Will be big-time college recruit 15 Vance Albitz, South Jr. Batted .469 Torrance 16 Shaun Lane, El Dorado Sr. Top hitter moves from third base 17 David Fonseca, Sr. Ready for an Thousand Oaks all-section season 18 Grant Green, Anaheim Jr. Hit .430 as a sophomore Canyon 19 Casey Mulligan, Jr. Made impressive summer Valencia strides 20 T.J. Mittelstaedt, Jr. Has lots of talent Mission Viejo 21 Michael Brady, Santa Sr. Signed with California Margarita 22 Mike Moustakas, So. Did everything right Chatsworth as freshman 23 Steve Carrillo, San Sr. Should be a .450 hitter Pedro 24 Eric Wetzel, Don Lugo Sr. Athletic, tough, fearless 25 Justin Jacobs, Chino Jr. Has powerful arm 26 Garrett DeGrazio, Sr. All-Sunset League Edison performer 27 J.P. Hollywood, El Jr. Developing into clutch Camino Real hitter 28 Brad Rice, L.A. Sr. Batted .449 as a junior Baptist 29 Eric Carrillo, Kaiser Sr. Signed with UC Riverside 30 Dean Benevidez, Crespi Sr. A flawless fielder 31 Dylan Cohen, Palisades Sr. Makes plays and hits 32 Ray White, L.A. Jordan Sr. Four-year starter 33 Halston Barcelo, Sr. Has speed and hitting Foothill skills 34 Hector Sepulveda, GH Sr. Top infielder from his Kennedy league THIRD BASEMEN 1 Matt Dominguez, So. Freshman year was no Chatsworth fluke 2 Jordan Ott, Westlake Sr. Was hitting everyone in fall 3 Tyler Hoechlin, Jr. An actor who can Corona Santiago really play ball 4 Steve Rodriguez, Sr. Makes big defensive Capistrano Vly plays 5 Jordan Lowe, Palm Jr. Hit .534 with seven Desert home runs 6 Jeremiah Mejia, Jr. Comes through in big Arlington games 7 Josh Vitters, Cypress So. Possesses lots of ability 8 Kurt Olsen, San Sr. Had 30 RBIs Clemente 9 Victor Sanchez, Gahr So. Made impact as a freshman 10 Michael Cole, Trabuco Sr. Batted .410 last season Hills OUTFIELDERS 1 DeSean Jackson, LB Sr. Could be first-round Poly draft pick 2 Joe Dickerson, Sr. Can flat-out play Esperanza 3 Trevor Bell, Sr. It’s time to have his Crescenta Valley best season 4 Gabe Cohen, Jr. One of the top hitters Harvard-Westlake anywhere 5 Jeff Bowden, San Sr. Was 27 for 27 in Bernardino stolen bases 6 Jermaine Williams, Sr. All-City player with Los Angeles speed 7 D’Arby Myers, Jr. Possesses abundance of Westchester talent 8 Brian Dunn, Anaheim Sr. Had 41 hits Canyon 9 Nick Akins, El Camino Jr. Transfer is drawing Real rave reviews 10 Andy Marquardt, St. Sr. First-team all-Mission Francis League 11 Adam Denton, Los Sr. Had 13 doubles Alamitos 12 Andrew Lambo, So. When he’s focused, Cleveland beware 13 C.J. Belanger, Cypress Sr. Signed with Cal State Northridge 14 Chris Parmelee, Chino Jr. Has committed to CS Hills Fullerton 15 Ernie Cho, Palm Desert Sr. Leadoff hitter who batted .450 16 Jacob Medina, Corona Sr. Proven clutch hitter Santiago 17 Matt Roquemore, West Sr. Batted .395 Torrance 18 Case Jongenelen, Sr. Contributed 41 hits Wstm. La Quinta 19 Chris Cordova, Sr. Had 36 hits, .409 Lakewood average 20 Andrew Navarrette, Sr. Hit .414 as a junior Mater Dei 21 Ruben Noriega, Wilm. Sr. All-City player Banning 22 Chris White, Lompoc Sr. Batted .493 Cabrillo 23 Andrew Doupe, Westlake Sr. Had big summer power numbers 24 Trayvon Robinson, Sr. Has speed and hit .580 Crenshaw 25 Drew Norton, Agoura Sr. Batted .380 26 Sean Krajenbrink, Jr. Helped team win Katella Division III title 27 Dennis Gerbasi, Orange Sr. Proven .400-plus hitter 28 Devin Shepherd, Oaks Jr. Batted .514 Christian Compiled by Eric Sondheimer
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