Yankees top prospect billing for Jasson Dominguez adds undue pressure

After receiving the Yankees richest international contract ever at $5.1 million, 16-year-old Jasson Dominguez, who has yet to play in a single professional game, is already the organization’s top prospect. However, is all the undue pressure necessary?

Recently, Baseball America and MLB Pipeline have ranked Jasson Dominguez as the Yankees top prospect. Both publications, which annually release their list of the top 100 prospects in baseball, place Dominguez, aka The Martian, as the No. 38 and 54 overall prospect, respectively.

Equated not only to a teenage Mike Trout but drawing athletic comparisons to Bo Jackson and even Mickey Mantle by MLB.com, Dominguez won’t turn 17 until February 7.

Aside from some impressive video’s of Dominguez smashing BP fastballs from both sides of the plate, all we have to go on is the grades that these prospect-heavy outlets cover — and scouting reports against amateur competition.

Because Dominguez already sits perched atop the Yankees top prospects list — above guys like Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt and Everson Pereira that have already shown their growing abilities in the minors, I worry that Dominguez may suffer from prospect fatigue.

MLB Pipeline estimates his major league ETA at 2024. We’re talking at least four full seasons until Dominguez would don Yankee pinstripes. That’s a long time for him to be the organization’s top overall prospect and not sway in the standings.

While I understand that these rankings are arbitrary to a certain extent, and fluctuate from outlet to outlet, they are necessary for clubs to evaluate their farm systems when it comes to who they should draft, sign internationally or eventually trade for a proven big-league piece.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Yankees begin Dominguez’s climb to the majors. Will he skip rookie ball at Pulaski all together?

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The DSL begins before both the Gulf Coast and Appalachian Leagues, so it wouldn’t hurt for the kid to get his feet wet at the lowest rung of the minor-league ladder. I mean, it’s worked out for the top overall prospect in the game, Rays shortstop Wander Franco.

With a 60-yard dash comparable to Billy Hamilton (6.3 seconds), exit velocity of 108 mph from both sides of the dish and a muscular build, similar to that of Yoan Moncada, perhaps Dominguez reaches the show at 19, much like Juan Soto — and one year later helps guide his team to a World Series title.

Now that would be ideal. I mean, it’s hard not to get excited when you read excerpts of what those with first-hand knowledge of Dominguez have to say.

"MLB Pipeline: “He’s a well above-average runner who could be a 30-30 threat while manning center field.”Bed Badler via Baseball America: “It’s almost like taking the best of anybody that you have,” said Mario Garza, the Yankees director of Latin American operations, “and then it’s all in one guy.”“He’s possibly the best combination of tools, athleticism and performance that I’ve run across,” Yankees international scouting director Donny Rowland said."

However, should Dominguez experience any bumps in the road, I hope that the media and exuberant fanbase give him what he needs — time. There have been too many tales of top prospects not living up to the enormous expectations placed on them because they were rushed. The Yankees would be wise to let Dominguez’s production dictate when he’s ready for the majors.