When the minor league season started, in early April, the New York Yankees decided to assign outfielder Jasson Dominguez to the Low-A Tampa Tarpons, the same level he finished at last year.
It was a logical decision: he had held his own with a .744 OPS there, but he hadn’t really dominated the level to warrant a promotion to the much-tougher High-A.
To the surprise of many, he opened the 2022 season on an ugly slump.
From April 8 to April 23, he batted .204/.218/.278 with no homers, four doubles, and a .496 OPS in 55 plate appearances, with an ugly 1.8 percent walk rate and a 36.4 percent strikeout rate.
Since April 24, however, he has really turned around his season: he is slashing .314/.398/.593 with a .991 OPS and five home runs.
Since the calendar flipped to May, Dominguez has been a Martian, like his nickname.
Jasson Dominguez is on an absolute tear this month 👽 #RepBX pic.twitter.com/SW3NP9jfeC
— Bronx Central (@BronxCentral) May 25, 2022
The Martian Is Having Some Otherworldly Games In Low-A
His overall line is at a solid .271/.333/.471 with an .805 OPS, and he is starting to show the legendary power that prompted the Yankees to pay him a $5 million bonus a few years ago.
The most impressive part of it all is that Dominguez is still 19 years old: he is much, much younger than the average player at his level.
He still needs to cut down the strikeouts (his K rate is over 30 percent for the season), but that should come with time and experience.
For now, he is showing he is a well-above average hitter at his level.
If he can keep mashing for a few more months and reduce his strikeouts, he could find himself in High-A to end the year.
That would be a win for the Yankees.
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