Jasson Dominguez impressing Yankees with his ability to 'fit right in'

In talking about Jasson Dominguez Wednesday night, Clark Schmidt uttered a word big-league players use sparingly.

Especially when it comes to touted prospects.

“Seems like he kind of has that ‘it’ factor,” Schmidt said of the 20-year-old.

Dominguez is off to about as good a start as he, and the Yankees, could have hoped, going 7-for-21 with three homers and five RBIs in his first five games.

Though not the sole reason, Dominguez has played a significant role in the five-game winning streak the Yankees brought into Thursday’s series finale against the Tigers. With a win, the Yankees, 10 ½ games back of the American League’s final wild-card spot as recently as Aug. 31, could pull within six games.

But the “it” factor Schmidt spoke of goes beyond talent, which, of course, ultimately is paramount.

But “it” more often speaks to the way a young player navigates a big-league clubhouse, which often is not an easy line to walk. It can be filled with potholes, the primary consequence of stepping in one of those being rubbing more veteran teammates the wrong way.

Among the players in the past spoken of in such a light include Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe and, going way back, Derek Jeter.

That Dominguez, who impressed teammates during his time with the big-league club in the spring, has already been described as having a certain “it” is not a small accomplishment.

“Somebody that has a presence about him,” Judge said Thursday, asked what having “it’ means to him. “Almost to where you feel like the guy’s been around for a little bit, even though he hasn’t. You see that he understands it, he gets it, he gets the flow of the clubhouse, he gets the flow of the game, it doesn’t seem like the game’s moving too fast for him. He just fits right in.”

Speaking over the weekend in Houston about Dominguez, Michael King, though not using the word “it,” more or less hit on some of the qualities that gets young players recognized in that way.

“He’s lived up to every ounce of hype that I’ve heard. I’ve heard he was otherworldly, and he comes out here and just dominates,” King said, referencing Dominguez’s “The Martian” nickname.

“I was more impressed with just his poise,” King continued. “You come up as a top prospect, you think a guy could easily have a big ego, and he comes up and he’s very humble and he’s very quiet, honestly, being like a very good rookie. And then when he goes out there and produces, it makes you love him even more.”

Aaron Boone, in speaking of the “confidence” Dominguez carries himself with, echoed King’s response.

“I think he knows he’s a good player, but I think he’s got the right level of humility with that, too,” Boone said.  

But, as is always the case, it comes down to talent. And in the small sample size that was Dominguez’s first five games, the switch-hitter displayed many of the qualities that had him among the more hyped Yankees prospects in some time.

Boone, multiple times, has talked about the lack of “anxiety” Dominguez seems to take with him to the plate.

Schmidt put it this way: “It’s very apparent he’s a natural hitter.”

Judge mentioned Dominguez already seeming to settle into the No. 3 spot in the lineup.

“When you’re a guy that’s able to slide right in and, all of a sudden, you’re hitting third for the New York Yankees, that’s pretty impressive,” Judge said.

Judge smiled.

“It took me about three months and about 27 homers later to be able to hit third for the New York Yankees,” Judge said.

The Yankees captain batted eighth his first four games of his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2017 and batted third in his fifth game. But he didn’t assume the No. 3 spot regularly until June of that season.

“Seeing a kid that can slide right in and it’s like, “Yeah, he should be hitting third for the New York Yankees, there’s no question about it,’ ” Judge said. “It just speaks to the type of talent and type of person that he is.”