Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees’ Top Prospect Jasson Dominguez Sets Goal for MLB Arrival

Dominguez and Luis Medina represented the Yankees in the Futures Game on Sunday.

Gary Phillips

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Jasson Dominguez became the first player to participate in the All-Star Futures Game without logging a full minor league season on Sunday, but the Yankees’ top prospect had loftier goals on his mind.

Only 18, the switch-hitting outfielder said that his aim is to reach the majors “in about three to four years,” according to the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff. Dominguez, a.k.a. The Martian, only played in a handful of professional games prior to his trip to Denver, but he’s already thinking about when he will touch down at Yankee Stadium.

Dominguez has been the talk of the prospect world since the Yankees signed him out of the Dominican Republic in July 2019 for a record $5.1 million bonus. That talk has often involved grand player comps and hurried ETAs, which the Yankees have tried to quell at times. But Dominguez will be a big leaguer no later than age 22 if his projection proves accurate.

“The first thing you notice is the physicality,” Kevin Reese, the Yankees’ senior director of player development, said in May. “He doesn’t look like an 18-year-old kid. When guys come out of high school and they show up here, usually you want to get them in the weight room and you want to feed them and do those types of things. He is very physical, and you notice that in everything that he does. He’s explosive, whether it’s running, whether it’s the way he warms up and the way he moves around. He jumps off the page at you as you watch him perform.”

On Sunday, Dominguez was the youngest player at Coors Field. He didn’t start and went hitless in the game with two strikeouts, but he did rip 106-mph line drive that found the glove of Cardinals farmhand Nolan Gorman.

Dominguez had only played in seven games with the rookie-level Florida Complex League Yankees before the Futures Game (he had only played in 2 games at the time of his selection to the exhibition). The teenager is 4-for-20 with zero extra-base hits, one RBI, two stolen bases, five runs scored, six walks and six strikeouts so far.

Dominguez was not the only Yankees prospect in Colorado on Sunday. Luis Medina, New York’s seventh-best farmhand, per MLB.com, also appeared in the Futures Game.

The 22-year-old right-hander was the last pitcher in for the American League in an 8-3 losing effort. While wild at times, Medina threw a scoreless sixth. He allowed a pair of hits and one walk while striking out two.

Known for his heat, Medina registered the fastest pitch of the Futures Game at 100.7 mph. His curveball didn’t take a backseat in the showcase, though.

Medina got off to a brilliant start at High-A Hudson Valley this season, recording a 2.76 ERA in seven outings. He has been less effective since being promoted to Double-A Somerset in mid-June, tallying a 5.21 ERA in four starts. However, he pitched five shutout innings with eight strikeouts in his final start before the break.

Medina has made 11 total starts this season, pitching to a 3.66 ERA with 5.6 BB/9 and 13.6 K/9 over 51.2 innings. 

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Gary Phillips
GARY PHILLIPS

A graduate of Seton Hall, Gary Phillips has written and/or edited for The Athletic, The New York Times, Sporting News, USA Today Sports’ Jets Wire, Bleacher Report and Yankees Magazine, among others. He can be reached at garyhphillips@outlook.com.

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