Yankees Should Start Having Jasson Dominguez Conversations

Dominguez, on the other hand, has hit since the team reported to Tampa. In Spring Training, while the big guns were at the World Baseball Classic, Dominguez was 13-for-40 with two doubles, three home runs, three stolen bases, and 10 RBIs.

In 47 plate appearances in AAA, Dominguez is hitting .375/.468/.575 with two homers, seven walks, and two doubles. He also has four stolen bases.

Those numbers look gaudy, but the underlying metrics show that they aren't flukey. According to the website Prospect Savant, Dominguez has a .427 xwOBA, .332 xBA, .552 xSLG, and 90.2 Average Exit Velocity.

Dominguez also has a 12.8% k rate and 14.9% walk rate. He always had a good eye, and that is still the case this year in Scranton.

Scranton Shuffle

At the end of camp, when the Yankees initially sent Dominguez down, Boone said it was about him finding playing time for him. The roster was set.

“One of the things I told him is that I’m proud of him,” manager Aaron Boone said before the season started, according to MLB.com's Brian Hoch. “He walked into this camp with all kinds of conversation around him. It didn’t affect anything in the way he carried himself, day in, day out, the way he worked. You want him playing regularly,” Boone said, “and that’s ultimately what it comes down to.”

It begs the question: How long of a leash does someone like Grichuk get on this roster? It's clear that once Anthony Volpe is healthy, he'll take the shortstop job back. Jose Caballero hasn't done anything of note this season thus far. He'll lose his job and be relegated to spot starts around the infield. Shouldn't the same apply to Grichuk?

Grichuk's fate may be harsher, because if Dominguez comes up, it's likely he'll be cut. Still, it wouldn't be much of a loss if it happened.

It stinks that fans have to hold their breathe every time a ball is hit to Dominguez, but how much more of an upgrade is Grichuk if he can't hit? He was overpowered in the ninth inning against the Rays with two runners on, and him striking out was the most obvious outcome there.

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