New York Yankees’ uber-prospect Jasson Dominguez, the best-ranked young player in the Bombers’ system according to MLB Pipeline, will begin the year in extended spring training at the club’s player development complex in Tampa, Fla. That doesn’t mean he can’t and won’t be assigned to one of the minor league affiliates down the road, but for now, that’s the plan.
Meanwhile, Austin Wells, the Yankees’ first pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, is slated to begin the season, the first one of his professional career, with Low-A Tampa this week. Those two are perhaps the Yanks’ most exciting prospects.
Dominguez is a physical specimen like no other, with enormous raw power, a great arm, and good speed before bulking up in the last year or so. However, he just turned 18 and has never played a professional game in his career, so the Yankees’ approach seems to be the right one.
The Yankees have high hopes for Dominguez
And that way, they can evaluate him in person and, after assessing where his tools currently are, and then assign him to the appropriate affiliate.
“Everything that we’ve seen from this kid, he’s super talented, but he hasn’t played a game here yet,” Kevin Reese, the Yankees’ senior director of player development, said this spring according to the team’s official site. “It’s hard to help him manage those expectations, because he’s not going to show up tomorrow and perform like Mike Trout or Aaron Judge or Brett Gardner.
“We’ll keep him working; our goal is to get the best Jasson Dominguez that’s possible. Hopefully, that’s a really good player that helps us win games and win championships.”
The Yankees published the minor league affiliates rosters to open the 2021 minor league season, the first one since 2019. They announced camp rosters in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Double-A Somerset, High-A Hudson Valley and Low-A Tampa on Sunday.
Other notable assignments are Deivi Garcia to Triple-A, Oswald Peraza to High-A, Luis Gil to Double-A, and Luis Medina to High-A.