It started small. An oddly clipped highlight here, a nitpicky stat tossed into a broadcast there. At first glance, nothing unusual. But as the weeks passed, a pattern emerged: whenever the Yankees’ most hyped youngster shone, the praise felt muted. And when he faltered? The criticism came down like a ton of bricks, the words ringing out with a triumphant edge. It’s hard not to wonder if it’s a coincidence that a team as heavily watched as the Yankees would be taking this kind of heat.

That spotlight belongs to Jasson Dominguez, the 22-year-old outfielder dubbed “The Martian” for his otherworldly skill set. In just his first taste of the majors last September, Dominguez homered four times in eight games, including taking Justin Verlander deep in his debut, before a torn UCL cut his season short. This year, in limited action while working back from surgery, he’s posted a .271 batting average with an .815 OPS across two levels. Those numbers hardly scream “bust,” yet the coverage from MLB’s media partner has tilted toward skepticism, framing Dominguez as a cautionary tale rather than a cornerstone in waiting.

Former Yankee Cameron Maybin fanned the flames with a candid take on The Max Mannis Pod. “This is me playing GM. I like Jasson Dominguez… but I would’ve been trying to put together a package to get him out of here. Give me Steven Kwan!” Maybin said, openly questioning whether analytics might overvalue Dominguez’s raw power while undervaluing Kwan’s consistency and elite defense. His remarks crystallized the tension: was Dominguez being fairly assessed, or unfairly branded as overhyped?

That jab wasn’t taken lightly by Yankees fans. Domínguez isn’t just another young outfielder. He’s the crown jewel of New York’s farm system, their No. 1 prospect and one of the most hyped international signings in years. Even after recovering from Tommy John surgery, he’s still considered the centerpiece of the Yankees’ future outfield plans. Suggesting his departure isn’t harmless banter, it’s pressing a bruise the Yankees have no intention of exposing.

Maybin’s take drew a sharp follow-up from analyst Max Mannis, who wondered if advanced metrics support swapping a slugger for a contact machine. “Do you think the analytics don’t like Steven Kwan?” Mannis asked. Maybin’s reply cut closer to organizational philosophy than player evaluation: “I think it’s something in the analytics that said, we gotta keep Jason Dominguez. Sometimes, something in the analytics is like, nah, Steven Kwan, little guy, I know he’s doing well, but… something in the numbers say keep Jason Dominguez.”

Mannis expanded on the debate by pointing out that the advanced numbers paint two very different pictures: Dominguez consistently generates harder contact at the plate, while Kwan’s value shows up more on the defensive side, where the metrics favor him. Maybin backed up that framing, calling it a fair way to describe the contrast between the two players.

Some would say that cherry-picking advanced metrics to cast Domínguez in the harshest light sounds a bit unfair. Because then, that narrative will be ignoring his concrete gains: improved plate discipline (a career-best 22% strikeout rate in Triple-A this season), sharper routes in center, and exit velocities that routinely rank among the top of New York’s young core. And now, Jasson Dominguez is a 22-year-old with the physical tools of an everyday star already flashing through small sample sizes.

For the New York Yankees, those flashes are more important than nitpicking over defensive metrics that often fluctuate for young outfielders. The thing that sticks out to fans is that this kid can out-hit. In eight big league games, before getting hurt, he smashed four homers. One of them off Justin Verlander in Houston, of all places.

And that’s the real story here: a fight over narrative control. The Yankees insist Dominguez is a future anchor, while MLB’s media partner seems eager to cast him as a cautionary headline. Until the numbers of his bat shut the debate down, every Dominguez at-bat won’t just be about runs on the scoreboard. It will be about proving who gets to write his story.

From where Yankees fans are sitting, writing off Domínguez as anything than a future star seems pretty shortsighted. Fans heard the criticism as something more personal than analytical, a media voice aligned with MLB casting doubt on the Yankees’ most prized prospect. Within a franchise and it’s fanbase already navigating skepticism over front-office decisions, it read as a vendetta, not analysis.

Yankees Faithful Push Back Against the Foul Narrative

In the Bronx, nothing stirs faster than the sense of disrespect, and the chatter around Dominguez has lit that fuse. Every misstep the media magnifies only seems to harden the fanbase’s resolve, turning his highlight reels into rallying cries and his name into a badge of honor that measures how dedicated you really are.

“Horrible take. I’m willing to bet a lot that Dominguez at 27 is levels better than Steven Kwan.” The jab isn’t just a hot take; it’s a bet on projection. The fan sees Jasson Dominguez’s ceiling as far higher than Steven Kwan’s steady floor. Kwan, now 27, has built his reputation on elite contact skills and Gold Glove defense, but his profile is largely set: a high-average, low-power outfielder who thrives on consistency.

Dominguez is still just 22 and already flashing exit velocities north of 110 mph, which is the kind of raw power Kwan has never shown. The argument here leans on development curves; by the time Dominguez reaches Kwan’s age, his physical tools could should translate into a complete package, making him not just better, but “levels better.” In short, it’s less a knock on Kwan than a conviction that Dominguez’s upside is simply too enormous to ignore.

“Jomboy Media hates JD, and it’s becoming hard to listen to. Knock this nonsense off already.” That frustration cuts to the heart of what many Yankee fans feel: such coverage of Jasson Dominguez doesn’t just critique, it feels personal. Instead of spotlighting his bursts of star power, an .815 OPS in the minors this year, and that electric four-homer debut week in the majors, the coverage seems to keep circling back to doubts, injuries, and what he supposedly hasn’t proved yet. For fans who see Dominguez as the future of the franchise, that imbalance comes across as bias, not analysis. So when a fan says, “Knock this nonsense off already,” it’s less about silencing criticism and more about demanding balance: give Dominguez credit for what he has done, not just what he hasn’t.

“If Volpe can get 3 years to see what kind of player he is, Dominguez should get that chance as well” The logic hits home for Yankee fans: if Anthony Volpe was given three full seasons to grow into his role, weathering slumps, tinkering with his swing, and proving himself over time, then Jasson Dominguez deserves the same runway.

Volpe’s early years were marked by inconsistency, yet the organization trusted his upside and is now seeing the payoff in his defense and developing bat. Dominguez, with louder tools and a track record of producing even in small MLB samples, has earned at least that much patience. The comment isn’t just defending him, it’s pointing out a double standard: if patience built Volpe, why not extend that same grace to “The Martian”?

“Why are we acting like this version of Dominguez is all he’ll ever be? He’s only 21.” Actually, he’s now 22 years old, but that fan sentiment cuts right to the impatience surrounding the Yankees’ top prospect. Baseball history is littered with stars who stumbled early before exploding later. Miguel Cabrera hit just .268 with 12 homers as a 21-year-old rookie, while Aaron Judge struck out in nearly half his plate appearances during his first call-up. Age matters, and Dominguez is still years away from reaching his physical and mental peak. Fans urging patience aren’t making excuses; they’re pointing to a clear truth: player development is rarely linear. The kid with the “Martian” label still has time to grow into the player scouts projected, and rushing to define him now says more about the impatience of the media than the potential of the prospect.

“Bruh, the Dominguez hate has to stop, he’s 22 and in his rookie season.” That clapback captures the disconnect perfectly. Too many critics rush to slap the “bust” label on a player barely old enough to rent a car, while forgetting that most major leaguers don’t even break in until their mid-20s. Dominguez isn’t some polished college product; he’s learning on the fly against the best arms in the world. The irony, as the fan points out, is that many who call him overrated never even played beyond high school ball, let alone faced 98 mph with a slider off it.

For a 22-year-old, Dominguez has already flashed the tools, elite bat speed, power to all fields, and steady growth at the plate that scream potential, not failure. The bust talk? That says more about impatience than about the kid himself.