New York Yankees Top Hitting Prospect Named Team's X-Factor This Season

Will a young star emerge for the New York Yankees in 2025?

Feb 26, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez (24) hits a RBI single in the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

With the start of the new campaign right around the corner for the New York Yankees, there are going to be plenty of questions for the team entering the season. 

It has not been a good spring training for the Yankees overall. While they have seen some young players perform well, the injuries have been the main storyline. 

New York is heading into the season with both Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Gil starting the season on the injured list. Furthermore, Gerrit Cole is going to be out for the rest of the year and into 2026 after having Tommy John surgery. 

That is a lot of production to replace in both the lineup and the starting rotation, and the Yankees are going to need players to step up. 

Fortunately, there is reason to believe that some of their young talent will improve in 2025. However, one player might be key to making it all come together. 

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently spoke about left fielder Jasson Dominguez being the biggest X-factor for the team heading into the campaign. 

“Though newcomers Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt were brought in to replace Juan Soto in the aggregate, Domínguez needs to be part of the equation as well. And 'The Martian' will be if he lives up to his other-worldly tools.”

The top prospect of New York has been talked about a lot the last couple of seasons, and for good reason. In the minors, Dominguez looked like a five-tool type of player that could be an absolute star for the Yankees. 

In the minors last season, the 22-year-old slashed .314/.376/.504 with 11 home runs and 16 RBI in just 58 games played.

So far this spring, the switch-hitter slugger has been just medicore at the plate, but there have been some concerns about his ability to play left field. 

Surprisingly, despite being a good center fielder on defense, Dominguez has seemingly been struggling to pick up the ball off the bat and tracking it in left field. Hopefully with reps, that is something that will be fixed. 

After the loss of Juan Soto this winter, the Yankees were going to be trying to replace him with depth pieces to lengthen their lineup. 

While Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt were the new acquisitions, players like Dominguez emerging and reaching their potential is just as important. 

If the switch-hitter can live up to his potential and be a Rookie of the Year candidate in the American League, it will help replace Soto’s missing production. 

Hopefully, the top prospect of the Yankees is ready to live up to his lofty expectations, because the team is certainly relying on him too.