Sports: Pawcatuck’s Domnarski making pro debut with Gulf Coast League Marlins
Pawcatuck’s Doug Domnarski making pro debut with Miami in the Gulf Coast League
Doug Domnarski follows nearly the same routine every day. Rise at 6 a.m. Leave his hotel at 6:30 a.m. for the five-mile ride to the Gulf Coast League complex of the Miami Marlins in Jupiter, Fla. Eat breakfast at 7. Stretch at 8. Participate in a variety of baseball drills with fellow minor leaguers until lunch. Then play a game at noon under the hot Florida sun.
"Every day it's like that," Domnarski said. "It's nice to get into a routine and nice to know what you're going to do and what you have to do to get better."
Domnarski, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound left-handed pitcher from Pawcatuck, is soaking in his first season as a professional baseball player. After the Marlins selected him in the 27th round of the major league draft in June, he was sent to Miami's rookie level affiliate in the Gulf Coast League.
It's another stop on his baseball journey that's carved a path through southeastern Connecticut — Stonington High School, UConn Avery Point and UConn along with several summers with the Mystic Schooners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Early returns show he's holding his own against rookie ball competition.
In nine relief appearances, Domnarski has pitched 10 innings, allowing nine hits and three earned runs while walking five and striking out nine. He owns a 2.70 earned run average and opponents are batting .237.
"I've done pretty well down here," Domnarski said by phone Wednesday night. "I'm enjoying it a lot. It's a lot
of fun."
From his first day in Florida, the Marlins have regularly preached to him about keeping his fastball down in the zone and getting ahead in the count. Follow those simple rules and success has a chance to follow.
He's experienced only one rough outing, giving up four hits and two runs in a third of an inning against the Gulf Coast Mets on July 6. His changeup has kept hitters off-balance. "It's probably one of my best pitches," Domnarski said. "It's really coming along. It's improved since I've been here, which is good."
With 27 pitchers on the roster, Domnarski has to wait his turn. He usually makes an appearance about every five days. His longest outing covered just two innings and he's been a late-inning reliever.
A lefty specialist at times in his college career, Domnarski is getting batters out from both sides of the plate; lefties are hitting .148 and righties .258.
"It helps me a lot to face righties and lefties," Domnarski said. "I can work on different pitches and work on locating my pitches. See what pitch they take and don't like."
His routine will continue until Sept. 1, the date of the last game for the Gulf Coast Marlins.
The Marlins have yet to inform him of his next destination. He's hoping to land in the instructional league this fall in Florida.
He'll remained focused on his development.
"Every day I'm just trying to get better and learn from my mistakes," Domnarski said. "I've just got to keep it up and keep attacking the strike zone and I'll be all right." g.keefe@theday.com