New York Yankees Exciting Rookie Cannot Afford Major Learning Curve

The New York Yankees need their top prospect to shine right away if they are going to win this season.

Michael Brauner | Feb 23, 2025

Feb 19, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez (24) warms up during spring training practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

The New York Yankees move closer to the upcoming season with a roster that looks very different from the one they broke through and won their first American League pennant in 15 years with this past year.

To state the obvious, the biggest difference is the loss of superstar outfielder Juan Soto to the crosstown rival New York Mets. After having to play centerfield for most of the 2024 season, Aaron Judge will get to move back over to his natural right field spot with former National League MVP Cody Bellinger slotting into center following a trade with the Chicago Cubs.

With Soto now out of the picture however, the Yankees are going to be relying heavily on presumptive left fielder and top prospect Jasson Domínguez to step in right away and produce.

Nobody expects Domínguez to come in and be Soto, but in trying to replace the production of one of the best hitters in all of baseball, New York cannot afford a major learning curve from 'The Martian' if they are going to win anything significant in 2025.

Soto was already a bit of a liability on the defensive side of the ball but his bat obviously more than made up for it. Domínguez — who does not grade out as a plus defender — may unfortunately be more of an issue in the field than Soto.

On Sunday afternoon in a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers, Domínguez had a brutal error in which he lost a fly ball in the sun and it fell to the ground:

Jasson Dominguez lost a fly ball in the sun: pic.twitter.com/geu0BoQPkH
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) February 23, 2025

The Tigers runner, who was still on second base when the ball hit the ground, wound up being out at home by a mile, but the Yankees may not be so lucky the if a similar situation plays out once the regular season begins.

Having a rookie who is just 22 years old take some time to grasp the nuances of playing in a Major League outfield is fine, but when New York has set themselves up to be incredibly reliant on said rookie, they are setting themselves up to be hurt immensely by Domínguez being forced to step into a role he may not be ready for.

By every indication, the bat on paper looks like it should translate right away. Having slashed .309/.368/.480 with seven home runs in just 44 Triple-A games last season, Domínguez should step into the Yankees lineup and establish himself as a force from the first game of the season.

In a small 26 game sample size between 2023 and 2024 at the MLB level, Domínguez to this point has not shown any major indication of struggling with the jump. Thus far in his short MLB career for New York, he already has six home runs and 11 RBI.

The Yankees had better hope the bat for the most hyped up prospect they have had in a very long time is prepared to make up for what looks to be almost assuredly a rough go of it to begin the year in the year in the outfield for Domínguez.

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