Dom¨ªnguez officially called up by Yankees
Catcher Austin Wells, NY's No. 8 prospect, also gets the call
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHoch¡°The Martian¡± is landing in ¡°Space City.¡±
Jasson Dom¨ªnguez was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday and is set to make his Major League debut during the Yankees¡¯ series against the Astros in Houston.
Dom¨ªnguez, 20, is rated as the Yankees¡¯ No. 2 prospect and MLB¡¯s No. 78 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline. The Yankees also promoted catcher Austin Wells, the organization¡¯s No. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
One of the most celebrated international prospects in recent memory, the switch-hitting Dom¨ªnguez has enjoyed a strong Minor League campaign, recently earning a promotion to Triple-A. Through his first nine games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Dom¨ªnguez batted .419 (13-for-31) with three doubles, a triple and 10 RBIs.
Dom¨ªnguez opened the season with Double-A Somerset, where he compiled a .254/.367/.414 slash line with 15 homers, 66 RBIs and 37 stolen bases in 109 games.
¡°I'm in the camp that I think he's going to be a really good player in this league,¡± Yankees manager Aaron Boone said recently in St. Petersburg, Fla. ¡°He's a really special talent. After getting off to a little bit of a slow start this year in Double-A, he's really played well here over the last few months.
¡°He's a guy that obviously impacts the ball and is athletic and can run, but I liked the fact that at a very young age, he really controls the strike zone. Hopefully that's something that, when he does get up here, will really be something that serves him well.¡±
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Dom¨ªnguez drew comparisons to Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle and Mike Trout before signing for $5.1 million out of the Dominican Republic, where he earned the nickname ¡°The Martian¡± because of his otherworldly tools.
Dom¨ªnguez turned heads in an impressive Spring Training, during which the youngest player in camp belted four homers in 11 Grapefruit League games. At that time, Boone suggested that he could envision a scenario in which Dom¨ªnguez made a big league impact during the 2023 season.
Word of Dom¨ªnguez¡¯s pending promotion comes after the Yankees placed center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers this week, a move that ended up with Bader being claimed by the Reds while clearing the position for Dom¨ªnguez.
The Yankees have responded to their dim postseason chances by injecting youth, promoting infielder Oswald Peraza and outfielder Everson Pereira to join rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe in recent days. Now, Dom¨ªnguez and Wells have arrived.
Wells, 24, was the Yanks¡¯ first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and should get a look behind the plate, joining catchers Kyle Higashioka and Ben Rortvedt. In 96 games at three levels of the Yanks¡¯ system this season (including 33 at Triple-A), Wells has batted .240/.333/.442 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs.
Boone said on Wednesday in Detroit that Wells has shown enough during his Minor League career to suggest that he can remain as a catcher long-term.
¡°I think there's been enough progress that we want to continue to see what he's capable of back there,¡± Boone said.