For the first time since signing with the Yankees, Jasson Dominguez played in an MLB stadium.
It didn’t count toward the Yankees’ standings or stats, as the appearance came in the Futures Game on Sunday, but it was probably the biggest stage the 18-year-old phenom has been on in his young career.
“I’m a little emotional right now, but it’s definitely a dream come true for me,” Dominguez said.
The Yankees’ top prospect, and MLB Pipeline’s 24th-best, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, but showed major pop with a liner 106 mph off the bat.
He has struggled early on, only hitting .200 with no extra-base hits in 20 at-bats, but he has walked six times, good for a .407 on-base percentage.
The outfielder has already been compared to some of the game’s greatest, including Mike Trout, but he doesn’t seem to be in much of a rush to get to the bigs.
“My goal is to hopefully be there in about three or four years,” he said.
The Yankees could probably use the switch-hitter in the outfield now, but the Yankees are excited for his future.
“Everyone talks about his baseball skills. I want people to know that kid is a special person. His work ethic is incredible,” Yankees minor league hitting coach Rachel Balkovec said, according to the Post. “He’s even a leader, I would say, amongst the young guys. He’s definitely a leader. He’s done things the right way, he learns fast, he asks good questions, he challenges me as a coach … and that’s actually your dream. He takes ownership of his career and I think that’s actually what makes him pretty special.
“What’s really unique is he has that talent and he has 10-out-of-10 makeup and that’s extremely rare. You never know what’s going to happen, but I’d like to think he’s going to go really far.”
The Yankees’ seventh-ranked prospect, Luis Medina, also played in the game – he tossed a scoreless inning, struck out two, walked one, and allowed two hits.