TAMPA, FL. — People call Jasson Dominguez “El Marciano,” which means “the Martian,” because they say he has skills from another planet. And at Yankees camp, he keeps sending pitches into space. On Saturday, he hit his fourth home run at George M. Steinbrenner Field. It went over the right-field pavilion and hit the roof.
Jasson Dominguez, who turned 20 last month, has a lot going for him. Yankees scouts saw this potential baseball superstar when he was still a child in the Dominican Republic. They gave the switch-hitting center fielder a $5.1 million bonus when he was 16. However, it’s the progress he’s made since then that team officials are talking about now. The $5.1 million bonus was 94 percent of their international bonus money for the 2019-20 class and this rightly justifies Jasson Dominguez’s prodigy.
The prospect is growing up right in front of their eyes and fans. The kid is unique and looks like a star from a five-tool family. His power and maturity in the box are his best tools.
People love to talk about how Jasson Dominguez knows where the ball should be hit. But there’s more to it. He has a cool name and a cool picture of a Martian on his glove. At the Yankees’ 2023 spring training, he is getting older.
Jasson Dominguez seems to be at ease and satisfied in this setting. He now attempts and excels at interviews in English. He hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the rival Red Sox and then set the bat down.
“I didn’t feel the bat flip at the moment,” Dominguez told the New York Post. “We were down by six, eight runs. If it was for a tie or a win, that’s a good time for a bat flip. Down by eight runs, I didn’t think it was time for a bat flip.”
One question in Yankees camp is whether or not it’s possible that Jasson Dominguez’s time has come. Though there is no official communication from the Yankees, it seems likely that center fielder Harrison Bader won’t be on the team’s roster for their first game against the Giants. Manager Aaron Boone came the closest when he said it would take six weeks, but Bader hasn’t rejected it.
“I will remain super positive and be back when the baseball Gods let me!” Bader thinks.
Even if Bader has a great attitude, there is almost no chance he will be back for the March 30 opener. Most likely, the Yankees will replace Bader on Opening Day with one of these players Rafael Ortega, Estevan Florial, Aaron Hicks, or Aaron Judge.
Even though Jasson Dominguez has only played five Double-A games, it’s still fun to think about the possibility that he could be called up to replace Bader. Even though Dominguez is old enough to know what the chances are, he is a dark horse.
“It’s not something on my mind, I’ve got to focus on the present,” Dominguez said. “That’s not something I’m paying close attention to or thinking about.”
Jasson Dominguez, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and looks to weigh more than 200 pounds, has been a lot of fun to watch. He hit another sure-fire home run Saturday when the Yankees lost to the Phillies by a score of 6-3. This time, he did it against Connor Brogdon, a right-handed pitcher for the Phillies.
At the very least, Dominguez offered a remarkable distraction amid a gloomy week highlighted by pitching injuries and, of course, Bader. Everyone is paying attention. Although Opening Day seems to be out of Dominguez’s grasp, his schedule must be tightening.
“He continues to just show why we invested so heavily in him, which is great. He’s an exciting talent. And he’s determined and he’s hungry. So he’s got all the attributes you need,” Cashman said. “He’s got the physical ability matching the competitive fire and the will to succeed. The sky’s the limit.”
It looks like some of those shots haven’t hit the sky. And it’s been said that Jasson Dominguez was part of a deal to get the Yankees’ top pitching target, Luis Castillo, last summer. Since then, though, his stock has been going up. The team’s leaders are amazed by how much he has improved in the last year. In 2022, Jasson Dominguez played for Class-A Hudson Valley and had an OPS of .906.
“Last year was a huge year for him in terms of putting himself on the map and climbing the ladder,” Cashman said.
In the short time, he has been here after moving up several levels. Jasson Dominguez is only 20, so it’s unlikely that he’s already climbing his way to The Bronx. However, his time seems to be coming up fast.
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