Two Stats Hint Toward New York Yankees Prospect Breaking Out This Season

A New York Yankees prospect has two stats beyond his raw production that hint a break out is on the horizon.

Feb 17, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez (24) hits a ball as manager Aaron Boone (17) and outfielder Cody Bellinger (35) look on during spring training batting practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees have a huge void in their lineup to fill with star outfielder Juan Soto moving on in free agency, agreeing to the largest contract in baseball history with their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets.

Replacing a player of that caliber with a single individual will be a virtually impossible task. Soto is one of the best offensive players in the game with his combination of patience, bat-to-ball skills and power.

It is going to take a total team effort from the entire lineup to replicate his production.

One player that people are going to be keeping a close eye on is star prospect Jasson Dominguez.

This is going to be the first time that The Martian is on track to receive regular playing time at the Major League level. Oozing with potential, fans have been patiently waiting years for this moment.

There have been some signs of that immense talent during his brief cameos in the MLB to this point.

During his debut in 2023, he launched four home runs in only 31 at-bats. He has stolen six bases despite only 100 plate appearances and a .310 on-base percentage over that span.

Overall, Dominiguez has produced a slash line of .207/.310/.437 with a 107 OPS+ and 0.2 WAR. Certainly not groundbreaking production, but it is above league-average and he had to work his way back from a serious elbow injury.

That power-speed combination is going to be relied upon heavily to help offset the Soto loss, as he is in the running to take over as the team’s lead-off hitter in 2025.

It will be interesting to see if that is a role he can excel in. His strikeout rate of 27.0% is slightly concerning, but he has a 13.0% walk rate that helps cancel things out.

But, as shared by Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required), there are two stats that stick out from Dominguez’s early MLB appearances; his barrel rate and maximum exit velocity.

A 13.3% barrel rate and maximum exit velocity of 111.6 mph at the Triple-A level make him a combination of Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker and Milwaukee Brewers stud youngster Jackson Chourio.

Now if only Dominguez could figure things out defensively as well as those players have, he would be a complete five-tool player for the Yankees.

Right now, that is the only real blemish in his game. How he adjusts to playing left field in place of Alex Verdugo will be important to keep an eye on as the transition has not been a smooth one to this point.

But, if he can live up to the expectations at the plate, the defensive woes won’t be as damaging.