Yankees Mag: The Martian Has Landed
Jasson Domínguez is somewhat used to making history at this point. It’s just his M.O., and possibly even a part of his DNA. But sometimes, even he can surprise himself.
When a towering shot from the 22-year-old Dominican left fielder cleared the center-field wall at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif., on May 9, it marked Domínguez’s third home run of the game -- this one a grand slam -- in a 10-2 victory over the Athletics. But it also added a number of historic feats to the resume of the young man known as “The Martian.”
“When I hit the third one, I was telling myself, ‘No way. There’s no way,’” Domínguez said after the game.
The opening salvo of a night he described as “special” came in the top of the third inning against an Athletics team that had no idea what was still to come as the ball flew out to right field.
The second shot? A casual home run to left-center.
The third homer, the grand slam, made him the first Yankee since Aaron Hicks in 2018 to have a three-home run game that included bombs from both sides of the plate.
That blast also made Domínguez the youngest Yankee ever to hit three home runs in a game at 22 years, 91 days, surpassing Joe DiMaggio -- who set the mark in 1937 -- by 109 days.
That night was one to remember for the switch-hitter in the beginning of a month of home run excellence never before seen in Major League Baseball.
Less than two weeks later, Domínguez crushed a homer into Yankee Stadium’s second deck to walk off a 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit three homers in a game, homer from both sides of the plate in a game, hit a grand slam and hit a walk-off homer all in the same calendar month, according to OptaSTATS.
“It’s awesome,” Domínguez says, standing in front of his locker with a wide grin on his face. “It’s incredible. I think I’ve never had a grand slam in my career, definitely never a walk-off, so doing all of that in one month is very special.”
History is becoming his thing. This is the same guy that signed for $5.1 million at just 16 years old, still the Yankees record for an amateur international free agent.
So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise to see all that potential that earned Domínguez so much attention over the past six years starting to come to fruition.
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Domínguez’s rookie season has been long anticipated, but this is by no means the beginning of his story. A player who gained mythical status as a possible unicorn upon signing, he only added to the myth when he got his first taste of the bigs back in 2023.
His first MLB swing resulted in a home run off likely Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in September of that year.
Domínguez proceeded to add three more homers in his next seven games.
Call it a preview of things to come.
Unfortunately, Yankees fans would have to wait a while longer to see more of Domínguez’s feats, as just 10 days after that debut, a UCL tear would force him to undergo Tommy John surgery and cause him to miss a significant early chunk of the 2024 season.
But even when he was rehabbing in the Minors in 2024, Domínguez did not miss a beat. Between stops at Single-A Tampa, Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Domínguez would see 58 games of action. Over that stretch, he posted a .314 batting average with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs.
A return to the big club came late last year, and a spot on the postseason roster and brief cameos in the American League Championship Series and World Series as a pinch-runner would foreshadow an important spot on the 2025 roster, as Domínguez broke Spring Training camp as the team’s regular left fielder.
This season, highlighted by history-making accolades, has also had its challenges, but Domínguez has been on the right track as he navigates his rookie year.
“So far, I think it’s going well,” Domínguez says. “I’ve had moments where there were a lot of ups and downs, but this is what the game is -- a lot of ups and downs. I think the biggest thing was working on my defense. But in general, I’m just trying to get better.”
Having spent the bulk of his time in the Minors playing center field, Domínguez has been getting the hang of left field, sharing the position with veteran Cody Bellinger.
What has helped Domínguez navigate the challenge has been a tight-knit clubhouse that has made the rookie feel right at home.
“I would love to say one teammate [has helped me], but we’ve got a really good clubhouse,” he says. “All of my teammates are great and very approachable. You can talk with anyone in here. You can ask whatever you want to the biggest guys, like [Aaron] Judge, Goldie [Paul Goldschmidt], Belli [Bellinger]. This whole clubhouse is really special.”
The results have been apparent. Domínguez entered the second game of a June series against the Kansas City Royals hitting .246, just above the league average of .244. Along with that solid mark, Domínguez had six home runs, with 25 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 179 at-bats.
Domínguez has shined hitting out of the No. 5 hole in the Yankees’ batting order. In 51 at-bats out of that spot, he was batting .314 with 16 hits, three doubles, four home runs and an OPS of 1.011 through June 10.
While not the biggest sample size, there is clearly a comfort zone there at No. 5. But where Domínguez’s true strength lies is in his ability to do damage from both sides of the plate, especially from the left.
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Switch-hitters throughout history have been some of the most special players to play the game. The Yankees themselves count arguably the greatest switch-hitter of them all as one of their own in Mickey Mantle.
But what can make a switch-hitter truly special is the ability to provide not only hits from both sides of the plate, but also power.
It’s an ability Domínguez has flashed. One of the three home runs that May night in West Sacramento was a blast from the right side, while the other two came from the left, impressing the Yankees’ skipper in the process.
“One from the right side, two from the left side, that obviously doesn’t happen that often,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the victory. “It usually takes a pretty talented player to do something like that.”
Talented and gifted, as Yankees hitting coach James Rowson points out.
“This guy has a chance to do special things from both sides,” Rowson says. “His left side has been great, and the adjustments he’s made from the right side getting more at-bats and seeing things. … He’s got power from both sides, so he can legitimately hurt you from either side of the plate, and I think that’s a strength.”
Domínguez has been working to improve on the right side, showing occasional signs of growth in the process. But while he was batting just .183 as a right-hander against lefty pitchers through June 11, the 22-year-old says he is focused on improving each day.
“I’m trying to make the adjustments that you have to do,” Domínguez says. “This is a tough league, and you have to make adjustments. You have to go through some things, and I think that’s just the main thing. I’m trying to keep myself healthy and make those adjustments to have success.”
What has helped along the way has been a positive attitude. Rowson says Domínguez is focused and hardworking. You have to be in a league that will throw anything and everything at you, especially when you are a rookie.
“This goes back to last season and coming into this season in the spring: I love where he’s at,” Rowson says. “This kid comes to the ballpark every day with a great attitude. He’s got skills that are unmatched -- he’s a really talented player, and now he’s just starting to get comfortable, getting consistent playing time up here, and I think we’re starting to see who he really is. This guy is a special player.”
The left side has been where Domínguez has done most of his damage. In 139 plate appearances through 48 games, 119 of Domínguez’s at-bats had come as a left-handed batter versus right-handed pitchers. The results: a .277 batting average, five of his six home runs, 19 RBIs and 18 walks.
Rowson says that as Domínguez gains experience, the right-side success will come. And success in general will follow as the left fielder gets more playing time moving forward.
Experience against big league pitchers, Rowson says, is especially important in Domínguez’s development.
“The biggest thing when you’re talking about on the field is just experience,” Rowson says. “It’s a fact that you’ve got to learn different types of pitchers and how they’re going to pitch you different ways. You’ve got to learn game situations. I think you learn those from consistently getting at-bats. I think this year, he’s gotten a chance to get at-bats consistently, and he’s made great adjustments, but the biggest adjustment is always how guys are going to pitch you and to start to get a feel for different pitchers.
“At this level, you’re seeing different guys every day. The more you see them, the more you get used to them, the better you do.”
One thing that Rowson notices is that Domínguez is tough to get out with the same strategy.
“He sees how you pitch him, he goes into that next at-bat, he makes an adjustment,” Rowson says. “It’s a credit to him as a young player. Jasson won’t let you get him out the same way. He’s going to make adjustments and going to continue to do that throughout his career.”
Even when he struggles or has a setback, Domínguez keeps a positive demeanor. During a late-May series at Dodger Stadium, he had an injury scare, jamming his thumb while sliding into second on a successful stolen-base attempt, putting him out of the lineup for a couple days.
But talking to him in the Yankees clubhouse, one would hardly notice he had any setbacks. Maybe it was relief, but Domínguez would often flash a smile as he prepared to take the field for batting practice.
Domínguez knows the nature of the game at this point, and that a player can’t get too caught up in the struggles.
“When you’re going through a rough moment, you’ve just got to keep working and find a way to get out of it,” Domínguez says. “When you run into a slump or whatever it is in the game, you’ve just got to keep trying. If you keep trying and working hard, at some point you’re going to get out of it.”
While the elbow injury delayed the full launch of The Martian, Domínguez has thus far navigated any health setbacks. Consistency, he hopes, comes at the plate and with his health.
“My goal for the rest of the season is to try to keep myself healthy and find that consistency,” Domínguez says. “I want to be able to help the team in the best way possible.”
Along with that three-homer, seven-RBI night against the Athletics in May, Domínguez has had games where he has put together solid outings.
In a June 25 performance at Cincinnati, the young outfielder had a career-high four hits. The hope is for many more nights like that. Ultimately, the credit, Domínguez says, goes to the coaching and teammates in the clubhouse.
From top to bottom, the organization has been helping him along the way.
“These guys in this clubhouse have helped me a lot,” Domínguez says. “All of the coaches and the guys in this organization really care, and they’re going to help you. That’s a big thing for me and anyone in the organization -- good coaches, good teammates are the things that have helped me the most.”
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It can be easy to forget that Domínguez is just 22 years old. Being in the Majors at this point is not necessarily common. That alone speaks to the talent at hand.
While the young prospect went from a teenage signee to the young man finding his place in the Yankees lineup, he is still that kid at heart that cares for the simple things a 22-year-old does in his downtime.
“Between games, when I have the day off, if I can, I go visit my family -- they’re not too far away -- maybe stay home and go to eat, and I play video games,” Domínguez says. “My favorite game right now is Fortnite.”
To describe Fortnite is a labor in and of itself, mostly because it’s an always evolving game that is constantly changing.
To boil it -- and a lot of “Battle Royale” online games -- down to its core, it’s about competition. It’s a game where players, sometimes in teams, are thrown into an arena and battle to be the last one standing.
It’s not too dissimilar from the big leagues. Each season starts with a group of teams all battling to be the last one standing on the mountaintop when it’s all said and done.
So, even in his downtime, Domínguez still finds a way to scratch that competitive itch, as he credits gaming as one of the things that got him through his injury.
“I’ve been playing Fortnite for a while,” Domínguez says. “When it first came out, I started playing it during my injury. I played it and fell in love with it. You play online, and you’re competing every match. That’s what I like about the game.”
While he may still have some youthful tendencies, Domínguez has come a long way from being the highly touted teenager with the record signing bonus and the out-of-this-world nickname. As the season goes on, fans and opponents are finally getting to see the talent that was projected six years ago.
Domínguez is just taking it one day at a time and soaking up all that he can in his rookie year. He knows that hard work will bring success. For now, he is enjoying life as a Yankee.
“It’s an honor for me,” Domínguez says. “When I first signed at 16 years old, I didn’t know much really about the Yankees, just that they’re the best team with the most championships. When I got to the organization and got to know all of the people, when I got to know all of the history, it’s just an honor for me to be part of this organization.”
Robert Hudson is a publications assistant with Yankees Magazine. This story appears in the July 2025 edition. Get more articles like this delivered to your doorstep by purchasing a subscription to Yankees Magazine at www.yankees.com/publications.