Jasson Domínguez just hit the exact variety of home run Yankees needed to see

Given the stakes this spring and his potential limbo, Jasson Domínguez likely just hit the biggest home run of his career on Tuesday afternoon. While it wasn't quite one in a million, it was unsarcastically one of 104.

Spring training win-loss records are as irrelevant to regular season success as four-leaf clovers or accidentally stepping on a crack on the way into the ballpark. But that doesn't mean fans shouldn't be overanalyzing and tracking tangible progress. Well-placed fastballs that induce whiffs still matter. So do hangers and dead-armed velocity drops. If a well-known prospect looks poised in his latest taste of MLB-esque competition, that's important. Same deal if he looks lost. Doesn't mean we can't correct it, but it's certainly not nothing.

Domínguez, potentially on the outside looking in at a roster spot, might've been the most firmly under the microscope of any well-known Yankee this spring. The team's intention is to start Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge across the outfield as often as possible this season. Domínguez as a fourth outfielder? Eh, consistent playing time would probably be a better fit. Domínguez as a trade chip? Not going to happen unless he can harness his flashes and begin to hit left-handed pitching at a more consistent level. Who's going to pay up if he doesn't? He's likely ticketed for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre anyhow, pending a Randal Grichuk implosion, but every hard-hit liner and rocket throw from left field helps build a case for patience (or, yes, for a trade deadline deal, if you're that kind of fan).

And a home run from the right side of the plate against a brand name in Phillies 'pen lefty Tanner Banks? That counts double.

Yankees' Jasson Domínguez rebuts switch-hitting narrative with rare righty home run

How rare is it to see Domínguez, who's supposedly a switch hitter, go yard from the right side of the dish? This round-tripper was the Clearwater equivalent of Sasquatch.

Domínguez barely nudged past the league-average goal line last season, finishing with a 101 OPS+ (and dipping below the baseline expectations because of his poor defense). Against right-handed pitching, though, he was far closer to relevant, mashing nine homers (yes, several against the A's) with a .768 OPS. Against lefties? He hit a single, solitary homer in 104 plate appearances, with his OPS dipping to .568.

The goal of switch-hitting is to essentially become your own platoon. But if Domínguez continues to flail against left-handed breakers and fastballs this season, then it definitely seems fair to ask him to give up the ghost and accept that he might need to sit against the Garrett Crochets of the world.

Tuesday's Martian Mash was just one homer, but it did come on a fastball bearing in on his hands, and it did show a skill we feared would never surface again. This spring overall, he's still just 2-for-10 against left-handers with four strikeouts. But now we've seen it, just like we saw improved instincts and a hell of an assist from the outfield on Sunday. It might not be enough for most, given the high expectations tied to his name, but the reps will come with patience. Giancarlo Stanton has two more years; Trent Grisham, one.

As Spencer Jones said after his demotion on Monday night, all he can do is take advantage of opportunities. That goes double for Domínguez when he faces his kryptonite, and Tuesday's turning of the tides was a notable one.