New York Yankees fans have big hopes for what top prospects Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells can be at the major league level, and in their first at-bats they quickly showed their potential versus one of the best pitchers in the game.
The New York Yankees 2023 campaign has been a disaster. In the offseason, they re-signed reigning MVP Aaron Judge and added Carlos Rodon to a team that won 99 games, yet they enter September a shocking four games under .500 and dead in the water when it comes to their chances of making the playoffs.
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That is why the team threw up the white flag this week and started calling up some of their elite prospects from their farm system. Arguably their two best, Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells, made their big league debuts on Friday night. However, they had the poor luck of doing so against future Hall-of-Famer and reigning American League Cy Young Justin Verlander.
Yet, that tall challenge did nothing to deter the 20-somethings in their first at-bats in MLB. In the top of the first, the 20-year-old Dominguez — who was just in Double-A a few weeks ago — took a pitch on the outside of the plate the other way for a 360-feet two-run homer to push his team to a 3-0 lead against the hated Houston Astros.
Several members of the Dominican’s family were in the crowd and the unbelievable moment sent them into an understandable frenzy.
New York Yankees’ Austin Wells smacks single off Justin Verlander in first MLB at-bat
While Dominguez became just the sixth player in the New York Yankees’ storied history to begin his career with a home run, Austin Wells delivered a memorable moment of his own in his first big league at-bat to start off the second inning.
After battling to a full count against the legendary pitcher, the 24-year-old catcher smacked a single to right field to lead off the inning and earn his first hit as a Yankee.
It is always special to get that first hit out of the way quickly, but for both to do so against one of the best pitchers of the last 20 years is unusual and will surely give New York fans hope that these two elite prospects can deliver on the promise they showed at the minor league level.
Dominguez is currently the second-ranked player in the Yankees system, while Wells is eighth, on MLB.com’s rankings.