The New York Yankees fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in their spring training opener on Saturday afternoon (7-4). While there were a few solid individual performances, the pitching was a bit inconsistent. Prospect Randy Vasquez gave up six hits, and two earned runs across one inning, while D.J. Snelten walked three batters and allowed two runs in less than an inning.
The Yankees saw a flash of potential from Jasson Dominguez:
However, some of the offensive contributions stood out, notably that of Gleyber Torres, who slapped an opposite-field homer and double across three at-bats, Oswaldo Cabrera recorded two RBIs, and top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez showcased his power.
In fact, Dominguez launched a solo home run to left center field, traveling 420 feet.
“Obviously it felt good,” a smiling Dominguez, who started in center field, said through an interpreter. “Just like the Futures Game. It felt the same.”
Per the New York Post.
Dominguez’s HR touched 109.7 mph off the bat, posting a ground ball that reached 102.7 mph in exit velocity. His unbelievable power should not go unnoticed. Considering he’s already hitting against Major League talent, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him jump to Triple-A early during the 2023 season.
“He’s talented,” Boone said. “Just good, quality at-bats. You could tell the guy has a real understanding and an ease of the strike zone. There’s no panic up there. It was good to see him really get into one.”
Seeing the type of contact that Dominguez made, paired with patience in the batter’s box, you can clearly see his maturity developing. The amount of confidence he holds certainly bodes well for his future since he also has the tangible and physical traits to be a phenom.
“I think the really exciting things, when you start to dive into his quality of contact, his chase percentages, walk and strikeout rates, all those kind of things, he got better as he went up and as the competition got better,” Boone said. “So that was something from last year that was really encouraging for him. Obviously getting a full, normal year in where you get a nice volume of at-bats, that’s that experience that starts to become so valuable as you move up. I think even more than the raw numbers, the underlying things that we saw from him as he went level to level were really encouraging.”
The 20-year-old prospect dominated with Hudson Valley and A+ last year, hitting .306 with a .397 OBP, six homers, and 22 RBIs with 17 stolen bases. He only played in five games with Somerset, hitting .105 with a .227 OBP, but he recorded a home run and began the transition process.
One way or another, Dominguez is going to fly up the farm system and eventually join the MLB team, but I wouldn’t expect him to reach the highest level until 2024 when the Yankees need a new centerfielder, given they let Harrison Bader walk in free agency.
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