The Martian Has Landed; Can He Help Boost the Yankees to a World Series Title?

As the postseason approaches, most teams aim to build momentum and reload their rosters with fresh energized players. The Yankees, on the other hand, chose a much more laid-back approach when it came to calling up their top prospect.

When rosters expanded on September 1, the Yankees did not promote outfielder Jasson Domínguez. The questionable decision generated anger and confusion across the entire fanbase.

The front office backed the decision by explaining that they wanted Domínguez to continue to get everyday at-bats in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, while the MLB club would ride with offseason acquisition Alex Verdugo.

Now, following Domínguez’s later-then-expected call-up on September 9, only time will tell if the Yankees played their cards right.

Stats updated prior to games on September 12.

What Jasson Domínguez Bring to the Yankees

Domínguez’s athletic ability in the outfield is certainly hard to ignore. He plays all three outfield positions, possesses above-average speed and has a solid arm.

Now poised for an everyday role in the Yankees lineup, he easily becomes their fastest outfielder compared to Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Verdugo.

Domínguez’s versatility allows manager Aaron Boone to potentially pivot Aaron Judge to left field (although Judge has remained in center field thus far), as well as providing more opportunities to get the MVP candidate off his feet and into the DH slot.

An Upgrade in the Field

Although it has been an extremely difficult 2024 season for Verdugo, he has been fairly decent in left field. Per Baseball Savant, Verdugo registers in the 100th percentile for arm value and 94th percentile for arm strength.

He has made some very clutch throws in big moments and is trustworthy when he needs to make a throw home.

The downside has been that Verdugo’s range in the outfield is poor. He is in the 39th percentile for range, with -1 OAA. When Verdugo can’t get to balls to make out (and make the most of his strong arm), there is no real advantage to having him in the field.

So, swapping in the speedier Domínguez for Verdugo should vastly improve the defense in the Bronx.

An Upgrade at the Plate

On the offensive side, Domínguez had hit .382/.447/.632 with five home runs and a 180 wRC+ in the minors since August 14th.

He had at least two hits in 10 of his last 16 games in Triple-A. Small sample minor league numbers don’t mean everything, but it seemed as though Domínguez was more than ready for the major leagues.

It is rare to find a rising star who is a switch hitter, a skill that the Yankees lineup was certainly lacking.

Overall, the lineup has been limited and has looked pretty beatable as long as pitchers could navigate around Judge and Soto. Plugging Domínguez into the lineup instantly elevates everyone around him.

Having his potentially dangerous bat in the middle of the lineup allows more opportunities for Judge and Soto to score when they are on base.

He also provides protection for Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton, forcing pitchers to throw more dangerous pitches to them knowing that the switch-hitting Domínguez will always have an advantage in the lefty/righty or righty/lefty matchup.

Verdugo, who will be giving the majority of his at-bats to Domínguez has been extremely lackluster at the plate this season.

His 85 OPS+ in 2024 would be the second lowest by any Yankees outfielder in a single season in the Wild Card era (min. 550 PA).

That said, although he has severely struggled throughout 2024, Verdugo might be catching fire at the right time. Through 32 plate appearances thus far in September, Verdugo is hitting .313 with a .353 on-base percentage.

Maybe with the addition of Domínguez, Verdugo feels less pressure to perform. Relegated to a part-time role, Verdugo could quickly become one of the better bench outfielders in baseball.

An Upgrade on the Bases

Domínguez also is a threat on the bases with 102 stolen bases over four minor league seasons.

Currently, Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. are the only true base stealers in the everyday lineup. Domínguez provides additional speed on the base paths and creates more run-scoring opportunities when defenses are focused on him rather than the batter.

Players like Domínguez, Volpe, and Chisholm can completely change an inning with their speed. In a lineup that has been significantly home run or bust over the last few seasons, the top prospect outfielder provides a new burst of speed on the bases to give the Yankees some balance.

Jasson Domínguez Could Be the Upgrade the Yankees Need

Domínguez is one of the most highly-touted prospects in baseball (Just Baseball No. 6). Now, it looks like he is finally in the majors for good.

A career .274 hitter with a .817 OPS in the minor leagues, Domínguez should slot into this Yankees lineup very nicely for years to come. And if the Yankees get anything like the production we saw from Dominguez during his short stint in the majors last year, the Bronx Bombers sure will look like one of the most dangerous teams heading into October.