The New York Yankees have tons of young talent in the farm system. Heading into 2021, one prospect in particular has caught everyone’s eye: international prospect Jasson Dominguez.
Dominguez, only 18 years old, signed with the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic back in 2019 for $5.1 million when he was 16 years old. He’s yet to make his professional debut in the minors. However, fans and the entire league for that matter are already comparing him to baseball royalty.
In an MLB Network breakdown of Dominguez, his pro comparisons are Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Trout. Those are three of the greatest athletes of all time.
He is the Yankees #1 prospect, and is ranked #32 in all of baseball in this year’s prospect rankings without playing one minor league game.
Dominguez is listed at 5’10, 190 pounds. He’s a switch hitter with great bat speed, and can play anywhere in the field. He’s been tried out at almost every position, even catcher. Dominguez however prefers the outfield, specifically center.
Add in his strong arm and overall speed, and that’s a recipe to be an absolute weapon in the outfield. All of this sounds like some out-of-this-world talent for an 18-year-old, right?
Well, his nickname only supports that.
“The Martian”
HUGE day in sports!
It’s Jasson Dominguez’s 18th birthday pic.twitter.com/6wKA6Qp2vE
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 7, 2021
As if everything said above didn’t get you excited about this kid, that nickname should all but do it. The Martian? I can already see the t-shirts hanging in the team store at Yankee Stadium.
Dominguez’ swing approach has scouts viewing him as an excellent contact hitter with phenomenal power upside. When you factor in his speed, he’s got 30/30 seasons written all over him.
The craziest thing out of everything? Dominguez is already doing things most current MLB players haven’t done.
A couple weeks ago, Dominguez hit a ball 117 miles-per-hour off the bat. Only four MLB players did that in the 2020 season, and only 11 did it in 2019.
And this kid’s only 18 years old.
I hope I’ve over-hyped Jasson Dominguez a lot for you, because it’s time to stop.
“Hype Train” Moving Way Too Fast
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Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about this kid. From a pure potential standpoint, he has everything you need to be a baseball superstar.
But hyping up Dominguez the way everyone is, is only setting him up for failure. He hasn’t had one at bat in the minors, and is part of a Yankees organization with a very impatient fan base.
The New York media are the toughest in sports. In addition, they are the last people you want to be feeding this Dominguez hype to. Experts are saying that he’s more advanced than Trout was at 18 years old. That’s crazy to imagine.
It’s not smart to put pressure on a prospect playing for a rabid fan base like New York City’s. He’s one 0-4 game away from fans wanting him out of town.
Bottom Line
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Jasson Dominguez is a known talent, and possibly a prodigy. But we must slow the hype train down a little bit.
Will Dominguez probably wind up being really good in the MLB for the Yankees? Probably.
Will he wind up being the next Mantle/Trout? Probably not (I hope so though).
Let Jasson Dominguez be Jasson Dominguez. He’s only 18 and has his entire career in front of him. The worst thing we want to do is hype him up too much to the point where anything below superstar-level is considered a disappointment.
If all goes well, he could have a Juan Soto-type impact on the MLB roster at 19-20 years old. Imagine the current Yankees lineup with Dominguez added to it!
Until then, slow down the hype and let him develop.
Let him play the game and prove to us Yankee and baseball fans whether or not he is baseball’s next big thing.
