The Tuesday Discussion: Jasson Dominguez

September 17, 2024

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This week we asked our writers the following:

Is Jasson Dominguez not yet ready for prime time?

Here are their replies...

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James Vlietstra - Jasson Dominguez won’t be 22 until February. He’s the most hyped prospect in the biggest media market. His play in the field shows that he’s definitely got nothing else to prove at AAA. At the very least you give him the last couple of weeks to get comfortable with Major League pitching. If he’s unable to, then you have the option to make him inactive during the playoffs. Either way you enter spring training with him penciled in to play every day and compete for ROY. 

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Mike Whiteman - Maybe. It’s hard to tell after 14 career games.

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Ed Botti - Not evaluating his brief 20 at bats in 2024, but just evaluating his physical performance, I would say he is not quite a finished product.

I have not seen enough of his arm strength (since the 1 game stint in Williamsport) to say with full certainty that he has fully recovered from his TJ surgery, but I am sure it will be fine.

His speed on the bases looks great and his upper body torque extension in his left-handed swings look very good. From the right side, I do not see the same level of explosion yet in his swings since the oblique injury, that just may be a mental hurdle to overcome.

I like his bat speed and he seems to be getting under every ball in the outfield that he should be.

So overall, I am pleased with what I see from a 21 year old playing in the spot light of Yankee Stadium during a pennant race, but do expect more flashes of his talent before October, if he is going to be included on the post season roster, similar to Shane Spencer in 1998.

All the tools are there, he is just wet behind the ears.

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Paul Semendinger - I think he is overmatched right now, but, the good thing about a three game lead (and why, if the Yankees had played better this year an even bigger lead) is that the Yankees can afford to play him every day (and they should) to see if they can get him ready for prime time. That will only come from experience. Each win the Yankees get here on out gives Dominguez a few more innings and at bats and such to learn and grow and hopefully become a legitimate big leaguer.

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Cary Greene - Right now Dominguez is looking overmatched, he's striking out at a 39.1% clip in a miniscule 20 at-bat sample size. The Yankees would be wise to let him get more reps while keeping Verdugo in the mix as well. There are only 12 games left in the season, so I'm not sure Dominguez makes the Yankees playoff roster. This postseason, playoff rosters will be limited to 26 players. Currently the roster size is 28 players so thinking ahead and kind of spitballing here, two players currently on the roster would need to be removed for the playoffs. 

Oswaldo Cabrera would be the first candidate not to make the Playoff roster and if the Yankees also cut one pitcher, then there might be room for Dominguez, but a lot will depend on what he does with regular playing time during the stretch run. If he continues to look overmatched, it's possible that the Yankees might make a surprise move after their Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton RailRiders conclude playing in the Governor's Cup. 

Up first for the RailRiders is the Durham Bulls, as the two teams will square off for their best-of-five series beginning Friday in Durham. Ben Rice has been looking pretty good for the RailRiders, so after the Triple-A season concludes, the Yankees might decide to roll with Ben Rice rather than Dominguez as Rice is probably the hotter of the two players at this point in the season. 

Since Anthony Rizzo returned on September first, he's only managed to post a .539 OPS with no home runs and only 3 RBI's. Let's face it, Ben Rice might be a better candidate to man first base for the Yankees in the postseason. Gleyber Torres has heated up recently and he has an .878 OPS over that same stretch, with 2 dingers and 9 RBI's, so the Yankees might feel that with Jon Berti at third base, neither Cabrera nor Dominguez offer enough offensive upside to pressure the strong postseason pitching that awaits the World Series or bust Bombers. Who knows? Maybe Ben Rice gets the nod. 

Personally I think Dominguez needs several months of playing every day in order to truly get his timing back. While his first 20 at-bats since being called up haven't look good at all, I think anything and everything is still in play. If Dominguez suddenly hits a few balls out and laces a few more line drives that find holes in the outfield, he could yet play his way into the limelight. It feels like the Martian needs a reboot though and if it were up to me, I'd wait until the end of the season to make the call. In my mind's eye, I'm favoring calling Rice back up and effectively ending Rizzo's time as a Yankee. 

Lastly, Caleb Durbin is an absolute spark plug and he's looking like he's also in the conversation for a call up. He's been a tremendous leadoff hitter for the RailRiders down the stretch and having speed in the postseason is always advisable. Is there anywhere to put him though, that's a question for another day in the near future.