Jasson Dominguez is in Triple-A because the Yankees don’t want him to lose his rookie eligibility, which makes sense given how long he’s been on the IL this season. He originally rehabbed from a torn UCL that he suffered at the Major League level last season and is now working back from an oblique strain, but he’s ramped back up. The switch-hitting outfielder has a .344/.412/.525 slashline over his last 15 games, stealing nine bases and looking a lot like the hitter we saw in the second half of last season when he tore up three different professional levels.
Before, they had the excuse of service time manipulation, but now, he can come up and still maintain his rookie status for the 2025 season. There’s no reason to not call up Jasson Dominguez, and the Yankees should act swiftly.
Yankees Can Call Up Jasson Dominguez and Keep his Rookie Status
One of the biggest reasons the Yankees decided not to call up Jasson Dominguez even after he returned from the IL was because of his rookie eligibility. By waiting until a certain point, the team could call him up and have him maintain his rookie status for the 2025 season, where he could then contend for Rookie of the Year and potentially net the team an extra draft pick.
There’s a reason Austin Wells playing so well could be valuable outside of the on-field impact, as the team nets a pick if he wins the award this year as well since he was a top-100 prospect on multiple outlets entering the 2024 season. Things didn’t look peachy for Jasson Dominguez upon his return to Scranton in late July, as he proceeded to hit .157 with a 28.6% strikeout rate over his next 13 games.
Seemingly adjusting to whatever issues he had at the plate, Jasson Dominguez has gone on a tear and looks like the hitter the Yankees need in left field right now. Whether it’s his powerful swing or his excellent speed, the toolsy outfielder could bring a ton of firepower to the bottom half of this lineup, as he has the power to take the ball out to all fields but also makes a ton of contact.
He’s running a 90.9% Zone Contact Rate, and while the home run power hasn’t been overwhelming, it could be tied to the elbow surgery he underwent this winter. Bryce Harper had a 41% Hard-Hit% and just three home runs through his first 47 games upon returning from elbow surgery. The two-time MVP ran an uncharacteristically low.386 SLG% over that stretch, but he found his footing and began crushing the ball consistently around the 50-game mark.
It doesn’t help that while Triple-A is a run-heavy environment, Scranton itself suppresses a ton of runs with a 95 Park Factor according to Baseball America. For context, the Park Factor of Oracle Park (SFG) is 96, and that place is notorious for keeping in deep drives that would be home runs nearly anywhere else. It’s such a dramatic effect that no San Francisco Giant has had a 30-homer season since Barry Bonds, and while Yankee Stadium isn’t a bandbox (99 Park Factor), it does lend itself to a ton of home runs.
For those wondering if Scranton is like its parent ballpark, it has a 97 Park Factor, so there’s not much going on there in the homer department either. wRC+ isn’t park-adjusted at the Minor League level, so it’s unfair to gage Dominguez’s value offensively because it’s relative to the entire International League, where some ballparks are horrific for pitchers such as St. Paul (MIN), Durham (TBR), or Charlotte (CHW).
READ MORE: Yankees likely making a big change at first base
Perhaps he doesn’t hit for the power he displayed instantly last season, but the high contact rates and excellent speed should make for a hitter who is capable of providing a spark. Projections aren’t super high on Dominguez for 2024, with Steamer having him at 92 and THE BAT X at 101, but the range of outcomes here is pretty wide. I think Yankee Stadium is built for the more pull-happy swing Dominguez has from the left-handed side, and I also believe the skills he has will translate well to the bigs.
He has a 108 MPH 90th Percentile Exit Velocity, which is ridiculous considering that we don’t have the updated exit velocities after yesterday’s game. He had three batted balls over 100 MPH with two of them over 110 MPH, and for context, Gunnar Henderson also has a 108 MPH 90th Percentile Exit Velocity this season. He’s the only player in Triple-A (min. 100 PAs) to combine a 90th Percentile EV that high with a Zone Contact% north of 90%, and that mixture of tools typically breeds brilliant hitters.
Defense is a question mark for the Martian, but I think we’d take the defensive liability if the offense is good enough. It would make sense to keep Alex Verdugo on the roster in case Dominguez completely flops, but September 1st is the date I’m targeting for a Martian landing. The roster would expand, allowing them to add an extra position player without a corresponding move. At that point in time he should become the everyday left fielder, and with the mixture of offensive tools at his disposal, he could be a key piece on this roster.