Rookies don't always live up to the hype in baseball, but every now and then, the rare prospect can fundamentally alter his team's projections. Just last season, Paul Skenes started the All-Star Game for the National League, while Luis GIl helped pilot the Yankees all the way to the World Series.
Earlier this offseason, we looked at three rookies who could immediately impact their teams in the National League. These are some of their most hyped counterparts in the junior circuit.
Jasson Domínguez
The Martian has landed. Jasson Domínguez figures to be the starting left fielder for the New York Yankees next season. We've heard about him forever, but he's still only 21 years old (he turns 22 in February). He looked great for the Bronx Bombers during his cup of coffee in 2023, but he didn't look like the same player after returning from an oblique injury in 2024.
Domínguez spent most of last season in the minor leagues. He returned from Tommy John surgery in May, dominated Double-A, earned a quick promotion to Triple-A, and suffered an oblique strain in June. The Yankees only called him up at the end of the minor-league season.
At AAA, he hit .309/.368/.480, but the vibes were off when he finally got called up to the Bronx, and his production sunk to an abysmal .179/.313/.304.
It's suspicious that the Yankees wouldn't commit to him earlier in the season while Alex Verdugo struggled miserably, so fans may be cautious and temper their expectations of Dominguez in 2025. However, he maintained a strong walk rate last season, which is a promising sign for a potential bounce back in 2025.
Now that Verdugo is a free agent, opportunity should come knocking for the Martian. If he can run away with a starting outfield job for the star-studded Yankees, Domínguez should be a prohibitive favorite in the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year race.