Scouting Report for the Baby Yankees
Jasson Dominguez of the New York Yankees (MLB.com)
The Yankees season has been disastrous, but the silver lining is they get to call up a few of the kids. The recent promotion of Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells are two of the most exciting call-ups in the league right now. This gives me cause to provide a quick background on each prospect and what their floors and ceilings are.
Jasson “Martian” Dominguez
Jasson, named after Jason Giambi, had major hype when he signed for $5.1M out of the Dominican Republic back in 2019 at 16 years old. He has 60 grade raw power, but has only hit .248/.361/.412 in 114 games in AA. He was 12-27 in AAA (.444) prior to the MLB call-up, while also flashing above average speed on the basepaths. His speed is likely to decline as he fills out, but is currently graded as a 60. The 15.2% walk rate in AA is encouraging, though the 25.6% strikeout rate is a bit higher than we’d like it to be. Some scouts think he can stick in center field, but most seem to think he’ll end up in right field with his plus arm and shaky glove. It’s also notable that he’s listed at 5’9” 190 lbs meaning he’s pretty small for a guy that profiles as a power hitting right fielder. Don’t be surprised if he has a K rate north of 30% in the show and hits somewhere in the .230 range. ZIPS projects him at .216/.292/.353 in 2024 and .224/.300/.371 in 2025.
Currently, Fangraphs grades Jasson’s game power potential at 60, but a real game power of 30. I expect Dominguez to play an average to slightly below average right field, while flashing 30/30 potential. Jasson should steal 30 bags a year with ease due to his plus plus speed and the power should come along as he gets more major league at bats.
Player Comp: Carlos Beltran
A switch hitter with perennial 30/30 potential, a CF who won multiple gold gloves and later moved to right field, Beltran has much in common with Dominguez. He might have Dominguez beat on the contact ability, Carlos only had a 16.3% career K rate, while Dominguez projects to be in the 30% range. Beltran hit .300 several times, which feels unlikely for Jasson. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t rule out a Dominguez breakout in 2024. Maybe he’ll win the ROY like Carlos did in 1999?
Austin Wells
Wells was drafted in the 1st round by the Yankees in 2020 as the 28th overall pick. He doesn’t have the juggernaut hype of Dominguez, but he could have a bigger impact on the Yankees in the next year or two than any other prospects currently in the system. Right now, the Yankees have 2022 All Star and Gold Glove winner Jose Trevino at catcher for opening day 2024. Higashioka is a serviceable catcher as well, but is slated to hit free agency after the 2024 season. This creates a potential opening for a young catcher like Austin Wells, who has a career .846 OPS in the minor leagues and profiles as an offensive minded catcher.
Wells could pair with a GG catcher like Trevino and he already has demonstrative success at the plate. Austin has hit .262/.355/.467 in 32 AAA games, after hitting .248/.343/.460 in 439 AA AB’s. As a left handed hitter, Wells profiles well for Yankee Stadium and could see 15-20 HR pop in the next few seasons according to ZIPS. On the defensive side, he has some work to do. In his minor league career, he has a 296-61 (17%) record vs base stealers. For context, the 2023 MLB average is 19% with the new rules and that is historically low. Yankee insiders praise Wells for his work ethic and say he’s improved his framing and receiving by a good margin in the last couple seasons. Regardless, he still projects as a below average catcher and that’s if he doesn’t end up getting pushed to LF or 1B. Staying at catcher will be important for Wells to keep pressure off his bat, as he would need to be a middle of the order bat to play everyday as a left fielder or first baseman in the major leagues.
Player Comp: Mitch Garver
Garver has a 19% CS in his MLB career and is generally regarded as a below average defensive catcher. Garver won a Silver Slugger back in 2019, with a career line of .252/.339/.484. Garver is more of a backup catcher/DH, but can flash 30 HR power and an OPS north of .800. This is a good profile for Austin Wells, a kid who has proven he can hit in every level he’s played at and should continue to do so at the MLB level. Unless he improves more defensively, he’ll likely be a role player, but could provide some real punch off the bench and spell someone like Jose Trevino effectively.
*Stats are as of 8/30/2023