Two things can be true: Jasson Dominguez needs time and space to develop, but Jasson Dominguez also cannot be dropping routine fly balls in left field. New York Yankees fans know this, so they're trying their best to be patient.
Truth be told, Dominguez has had his moments during spring training, even though the overall performance hasn't quite been there. He's hitting just .229 with a .670 OPS and struggled a bit defensively upon arriving to Tampa, but, again, it's all about getting back up to speed and working out the kinks.
His banner offensive moment this spring came on Thursday against MLB's top prospect in Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jackson Jobe (technically, Jobe is No. 2 to Roki Sasaki ... but we all know Sasaki is not a prospect, he's a bonafide star).
Dominguez absolutely clobbered a two-run shot off Jobe in the Yankees' 8-6 win, and it finally got fans to turn their heads in a universally positive manner. While nobody's necessarily frustrated with Dominguez, the overall feeling has been one of disappointment because of how promising his MLB debut was back in 2023.
A look at Jasson Dominguez's spring blast today vs. the Tigers 💪 pic.twitter.com/c1tH573ENN
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 13, 2025
Yankees' Jasson Dominguez destroys homer run off Tigers' Jackson Jobe
Since then, he's undergone Tommy John surgery and suffered an oblique injury, both of which delayed his 2024 debut. That affected his eventual promotion in September, and he just didn't look anywhere close to the dominant version of himself the year prior. The Yankees also didn't do him any favors by letting him languish at Triple-A before promoting him to play an unfamiliar position (left field).
Whatever the case, everybody knows the talent and electricity are still there. The kid is only 22 years old and has an entire MLB career ahead of him, regardless of what insufferable Red Sox fans have to say as they continue to hype up their own prospects who may or may not pan out.
Fans are simply hoping that the Yankees' plan with Dominguez comes to fruition. They are relying on him to be the everyday left fielder and are willing to absorb the "teaching moments" as the team gets on track, but that's something a bit more difficult to grasp with Gerrit Cole out for 2025 and Giancarlo Stanton's troubling situation.
If Dominguez can give us a few more of these dingers and keep his defense in check, the overall confidence heading into Opening Day will only put him on a better path to succeed early.
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