Checking in on Yankees top prospects Jasson Domínguez, Austin Wells and more

SOMERSET, N.J. — It’s been an odd 2023 for outfielder Jasson Domínguez, one of the Yankees’ all-time most hyped prospects. Domínguez’s impressive spring training had some fans calling for him to start in left field for the Yankees — never mind that he was still just 20 years old and had hardly played above High A. But he struggled in his first extended look at Double-A Somerset, hitting .140 in April, though he was still working his share of walks (.380 on-base percentage). In May, he has been much better, hitting .244 with a .794 OPS in 23 games going into Tuesday.

So what changed? Patriots hitting coach Jake Hirst pointed to two factors: The adjustments “The Martian” has made in the box, and his ability to shrug off the early disappointment.

“He dealt with it well,” Hirst said.

On Tuesday, The Athletic spoke with Hirst about four hitters on Keith Law’s list of the top 20 Yankees prospects, Domínguez (No. 2), outfielder Everson Pereira (No. 4) catcher Austin Wells (No. 8), and infielder Trey Sweeney (No. 15), currently playing for Somerset. Here’s what we learned.

All stats as of Tuesday morning.

Jasson Domínguez

The stats: .207 BA, .369 OBP, .769 OPS, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 46 K, 36 BB, 40 G, 179 PA

How he was acquired: $5.1 million signing bonus out of the Dominican Republic in 2019

What we learned: Hirst said that Domínguez had been leaning a bit too far forward in his stance, which may have been causing him to foul off pitches he otherwise would have pulverized. Domínguez worked on reversing that, which Hirst said allows him to “get behind the ball a little bit more to get it in the air.” The Dominican Republic native has also better handled the idea that opposing teams will pitch around him when they can. “It’s just about making sure that if they do come into the (strike) zone, he’s ready for it,” Hirst said, “and if they’re not going to come after him, taking his walks when they’re going to present themselves.” Domínguez ran a 31.3 percent strikeout rate in his first season in the minors in 2021 at Low-A Tampa. He dropped it to 22.7 percent last season and it was at 25.7 percent heading into Tuesday. Hirst said that Domínguez is “more confident with where the boundaries of the strike zone are so when you are being aggressive, it’s this selective aggression versus ‘I’m just going to swing at anything thrown my way.’”

Everson Pereira

The stats: .280 BA, .346 OBP, .858 OPS, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 46 K, 15 BB, 39 G, 159 PA

How he was acquired: A $1.5 million signing bonus out of the Dominican Republic in 2017.

What we learned: Over Pereira’s previous 13 games, he hit .388 with four homers and a 1.140 OPS. Long lauded for his power potential thanks to above-average athleticism and bat speed, Pereira has worked to rein in his swing, Hirst said. “He tends to be a very handsy hitter just because of how fast his hands and bat are,” the coach said. “Sometimes his hands would just outpace the rest of his body.” For Pereira, it’s about delivering his swing consistently. “It’s usually not something now” when the 22-year-old struggles, Hirst said. “It’s just old problems rearing their head again.”

Austin Wells

The stats: .272 BA, .359 OBP, .939 OPS, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 18 K, 11 BB, 20 G, 92 PA

How he was acquired: A $2.5 million signing bonus as a first-round pick (28th overall) out of the University of Arizona in 2020.

What we learned: Wells’ offensive production could make him a candidate for a promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre sooner than later — provided the Yankees believe the 23-year-old’s defense is ready. Hirst praised Wells’ ability to control the strike zone. “He understands his swing really well, and when something is not going right or he’s missing pitches, he knows what he needs to do to collect himself … I think there’s just a great self-awareness there and maybe the game-planning ability to execute and approach is high level.” The Yankees worked early in the season with Wells on flattening out his swing, which tends to have a natural loft. A fractured rib cut Wells’ spring training short and forced his regular season to start late.

Trey Sweeney

The stats: .230 BA, .366 OBP, .690 OPS, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 41 K, 31 BB, 39 G, 183 PA

How he was acquired: A $3 million signing bonus as a first-round pick (20th overall) out of Eastern Illinois University in 2021.

What we learned: Sweeney, 23, went into Tuesday in a deep funk, hitting just .128 with a .403 OPS over his previous 11 games. Hirst said advance work was among Sweeney’s key areas of focus. “Just with the type of hitter he is and the bat-to-ball (skills) that he has, pitchers are going to try to keep him off-balance,” the coach said. “One at-bat, they’re going to give him a bunch of breaking balls. The next at-bat, they’re going to try to blow it by him. So it’s just trying to work on the approach, be responsive to how he’s being pitched any given week, and whatever mechanical stuff we can fix. I think the big thing for him is continuing to adjust to the higher level pitching and higher level game planning and such that he’s going to face at this level and as he progresses through the minors.”

(Photo of Jasson Dominguez: New York Yankees / Getty Images)