The New York Yankees are in the unfamiliar position of having to look ahead toward next season. The good news on that front is they are at least getting some encouraging signs from the young players they are going to be counting on for the future.
A day after rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe became the first Yankees rookie to ever post a 20-20 season, another of their top prospects hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat.
Jasson Dominguez got the start in center field on Friday night against the Houston Astros and in his first at-bat in the top of the first inning he hit a two-run home run the other way.
Not only was it his first-bat, it was also his first swing in the Major Leagues.
Have a look.
Welcome to the Space Jam
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 2, 2023
Congratulations on your 1st big-league home run, @gonjass7! pic.twitter.com/oVTziNbSlP
There are a lot of cool things about this moment for Dominguez and the Yankees.
The first is that at age 20, he is the youngest Yankees rookie to ever homer in their first career at-bat.
He also hit that home run off of the reigning Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander.
This entire season has been a mess for the Yankees and they have a lot of things to try and fix this offseason. But players like Vople and Dominguez are among the best young players – and prospects – in baseball and definitely offer some hope. The franchise still has Aaron Judge, they are still the Yankees with deep pockets and they do have some players on the horizon who might become stars. As bad as this season has been, it could still get fixed relatively quickly.
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