How the Yankees Will Help the Martian Land
- Cory Claus
- Mar 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 27
Jasson Dominguez is about to bring his mighty, mighty bat to the Bronx. He’ll also bring his subpar defense, but the Yankees know just what to do to help him land safely.
Yankees fans have been waiting for six years, but the time has finally arrived: The Martian is about land in the Bronx. He’s appeared for visits before, but this time, he’s coming home to stay.
And it is not an overstatement to say that his bat could be the difference in the Yankees season. This might cause trepidation in some fans, but not to worry. Dominguez will deliver, and in a big way.
Now, I know some observers and computer-generated models are worried because he performed so poorly last year. There are two things to remember, however. One, Jasson was injured last year and should have finished his rehab in the minors. Instead, Brian Cashman and the Yankees were so desperate to replace the underperforming Alex Verdugo that they felt it was at least worth giving Dominguez more big-league ABs. That didn’t work out too well as he slashed a mere .179/.313/.304. It’s understandable that some humans might be uptight, and computer models might depress their projections.
It sure depressed me.
His injury was the main culprit, especially because it directly affected his ability to swing, as Brian Hoch made clear last year in this article. It also needs to be noted that he was still just getting his feet wet when he came up. And there is precedence for patience in Yankees Universe. Mickey Mantle wanted to quit the game after his first few weeks. Aaron Judge, meanwhile, in his first extended play, looked like an occasional home run hitter who would strike out in half his at-bats. I remember Don LaGreca giving Judge a solid “Meh.”
Nowadays, oohs and aahs have replaced the mehs.
History in the Making
The other thing to remember is that baseball is all about consistency. When Spencer Jones played in Spring Training last year, he looked like he might be the next big thing. But when you looked at his minor league career, you saw a hitter who struck out far too often. Sure enough, he went back down and spent the season striking out 200 times. He looked great again this Spring Training, but he needs to show it over at least half a season before his chance.
Likewise, Jasson’s minor league career seems to predict his future. He played in Low-A Tampa at the tender age of 18 in 2021 and hit .258/.346/.398 with a .744 OPS. That’s a good beginning. The next season, he worked at three different levels and ended up slashing .273/.376/.461. That all added up to an OPS of .837. That’s even better. And he just kept getting better, finishing last season with an excellent slash line of .314/.376/.504 and an OPS of .880; just wow. None of this means he’ll be successful at the major league level, but it makes his struggles in the Bronx last season seem more the outlier than the prediction.
Here, I have to add a note of caution. The Martian often takes a while to take off, which fans have seen over the course of Spring Training.
It took him the first two months of his first year to begin hitting at all, then followed that up at the start of the 2022 season with okay but not otherworldly numbers. Jasson hit .265/.373/.440/.813 (the last being OPS) in his 75 games at Low-A Tampa. He started somewhat slow and erratic...then he took off. That’s why he was promoted to Hudson Valley: not because of his slash, but because he kept improving so dramatically as the season went along. That confidence was rewarded when Dominguez hit .306/.397/.510/.907 at High-A Hudson Valley. My point is that no one should be surprised if the man doesn’t have great April numbers. I’m not saying he won’t; I’m just saying he might.
Might Makes Right
But the obvious flaw in his game is his glove. I remember being in a game thread last season when one man wrote that his father was at Scranton watching Dominguez play when he butchered a deep fly.
Okay, so he’s not going to win a gold glove. Neither is Juan Soto. The Yankees know that. They’ve known it for some time. Now, he’s not as bad as some have portrayed him. I watched him make a very nice running catch on a ball that looked destined to find the grass last week. I could also add some comments from Boonie about his recent defensive play, but it’s hard to take those compliments at face value. I encourage you to click this link and read them yourselves, but I can’t see using them here to buffer my argument when I know they might be spurious. Either way, it’s important to remember that some bats do overcome poor defensive play. Rafael Devers is an error waiting to happen at third base, but he’s got a World Series ring. As much as I don’t enjoy bad defensive play, sometimes you gotta take the sweet with the sour.
And let’s be real: Dominguez has a legitimate ceiling of Miguel Cabrera. Again, I’m not saying he’s going to win a Triple Crown or put up the same lifetime numbers of .306/.382/.518/.901.
But he could.
This guy hits for average and power, and when he starts hitting, he gets multiple hits a game. Like, a lot. And he definitely has a great on-base percentage. He controls the zone and gets on base at a high clip. That’s why the Yankees thought about putting him in the lead-off spot.
Brian Cashman and the Yankees know all of this as well. That’s why they haven’t traded him. That’s also why they have a plan to help his defensive efforts. Dominguez seems to struggle most with balls over his head. That means they’ll likely have him play back more than most outfielders, trusting he can catch most balls hit in front of him. That will probably result in more dunk singles dropping in, but it’s better than a multi-base error. Playing back like that also reduces range, so the Yanks might also have Judge and Bellinger play over a bit to their right so that Jasson has to cover less territory.
Either way, he’s coming, and he’s bringing his big-ass bat. Fans might groan and cringe when he misplays a ball, but they’ll rise to their feet and chant his name when he launches his next three-run homer.
I mentioned Soto a moment ago, and it brings to mind his first team, the Washington Nationals. I remember when they let superstar and future Hall-of-Famer Bryce Harper walk. But close observers knew why. They had Juan Soto waiting in the wings. It was clear this guy was going to be another superstar. That’s why I picked them to be in the World Series that year, that and their great free-agent signings like Patrick Corbin.
This year, despite their best efforts, the Yankees watched Juan Soto depart. And as much as I would have marveled at Judge, Soto, and The Martian all in the same batting order, I feel the same way as I did then–the Yankees just let a superstar hitter leave the team, but it’s okay because they’ve got Jasson Dominguez ready to take off.
So get ready to ooh and aah and sometimes groan. The Martian is about to take off and take us all on one hell of a ride.
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