Jasson Domínguez made his MLB debut Friday night after years of hype, and he somehow lived up to it in his very first plate appearance. The 20-year-old hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat, off future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, helping the Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Astros.
While Domínguez was already making history at his age, becoming the youngest Yankees to play in a game since 1984, his home run added to the legend. Domínguez became the sixth Yankee to homer in his first at-bat and the youngest player to pull off that feat in franchise history.
The last Yankee to homer in his first at-bat was Aaron Judge in 2016, going back-to-back with fellow rookie Tyler Austin who coincidentally had just done the same thing.
However, Domínguez homered off the reigning Cy Young winner, a feat matched only by Marcus Thames, who took Randy Johnson deep in his first plate appearance, per ESPN Stats & Info.
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Domínguez played in just nine games in Triple A, without a homer, before making it to the big leagues. While playing for Double A Somerset for most of the year, Domínguez hit 15 home runs in 109 games. The Dominican outfielder signed with the Yankees for $5.1 million at age 16 in 2019.
For the rest of the season, Domínguez will get the chance to position himself for a starter’s job next year, and he’s already off to a great start.
