What is everyone saying about Jasson Dominguez?

Last week I wrote about where the Yankees placed on various top 100 lists, and one thing that stood out was the universal praise of Jasson Dominguez.

Nicknamed The Martian, Dominguez was listed as a global top 50 overall prospect which is virtually unheard of for a 16-year old who has never played a professional game.

For today, I thought it would be interesting to dig deeper into the scouting reports of Dominguez and see what evaluators are saying about him, where they agree, and where they disagree. We’ll go through the scouting reports from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and MLB Pipeline.

Baseball America

BA Grade: 65. Risk: Extreme
Tool Grades: Hit: 60. Power: 70. Run: 70. Fielding: 60. Arm: 60

From just the initial grades, we can see why scouts rave about Dominguez. 60+ tools in all 5 areas make for a true 5-tool prospect and the makings of a bona fide major league star. The in-depth scouting report is just as glowing.

“Yankees international scouting director Donny Rowland said Dominguez has ‘possibly the best combination of tools, athleticism and performance that (he’s) run across.’ His body is built similarly to Yoan Moncada. Dominguez is shorter than Moncada, but both players are filled with a combination of tightly packed muscle that produces strength and quick-burst athleticism. Dominguez is an advanced hitter from both sides of the plate with plate discipline, a low chase rate for someone his age and a swing path that allows his barrel to stay in the zone for a very long time. His sense of timing against all types of pitches mitigates the pre-pitch movement in his swing, and strong hands, wrists and forearms give him the potential for plenty of power from both sides of the plate.”

Phew. Being called the best prospect evaluators have seen is some legendary stuff. Just as important, an advanced hitter with a low chase rate from a teenager is amazing, and bodes well for Dominguez’s development moving forward. That approach will help him adjust to more difficult pitching as he rises through the minor leagues. Once you reach AA, pitchers are known to have solid off-speed pitches, which is where that advance approach will be necessary to continue success.

The BA report ends with this enticing claim: “Internally, the Yankees describe Dominguez as a player who might be constructed with by taking the best tools from other players throughout their system and molding them into a single player.” Looks like Dominguez is what happens when you build your own player in MLB The Show and crank it up all the way.

Baseball Prospectus

By reputation, a 70 is probably fair, but I have no confidence in this one.

The other BP hedges a lot in their assessment of Dominguez but is nonetheless very positive. In their report they said they were unsure where he would place in their top 101 if at all, and he ended up coming in at 48. They say he is touted as the next Mike Trout or Mickey Mantle which is ridiculous praise but underscores just how toolsy Dominguez is. More importantly, all reports since Dominguez signed have been positive which helps lend credence to the over the top claims.

MLB Pipeline

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 65 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55

MLB is a little lower on Dominguez’s tools than BA, and here is there more detailed scouting report.

He won’t make his pro debut until mid-2020 but he already has earned comparisons to some of the best athletes in baseball history, such as Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle and Mike Trout.

A scout willing to be aggressive could grade each of Dominguez’s five tools as well above average, and his instincts are nearly as impressive as his physical ability. He’s a switch-hitter who’s loaded with bat speed and strength. He has a smooth swing from both sides of the plate, advanced feel for the barrel and a disciplined approach, so he should hit for power and average.

Dominguez also can influence the outcome of games when he’s not standing in the batter’s box. His well above-average speed gives him 30-30 potential and makes him a quality defender in center field.

A solid two-way player with solid speed has a floor as an everyday starter with easy upside into All-Star caliber. Again we see the crazy player comps to Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Trout who are arguably the three most talented baseball players ever. With any player, but especially someone with such crazy tools, the advance approach and discipline will be key for Dominguez to approach his potential.

Conclusions

There are two main points of agreement among all the lists. 1. Dominguez is supremely talented and worthy of being compared to luminaries such as Trout and Mantle on a talent standpoint. 2. Dominguez’s power and speed are ahead of his other tools. BA puts those two as 70 and MLB Pipeline puts them at 60 and 65. Either way, power and speed are the two easiest tools to measure before a player plays in meaningful games, and we can track Dominguez’s progress by seeing how his other three tools change in the next year.

You can contact Rohan on Twitter @rohanarcot20