Subscribe
Follow Us
New York Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo has not had the ideal 2024 season, and he is on the verge of making some unfortunate history with 20 games left in the season. Verdugo is two away from tying the Statcast Era (since 2015) record for the most groundouts to the right side in a single season, according to Seth Warner of MLB Network.
Alex Verdugo currently has 109 groundouts to the right side, which means a groundout to either the first or second baseman, and the record is at 111, a three-way tie, according to Warner. Obviously, Verdugo is well on track to pass that record with the amount of games left in the season for the Yankees.
It does not help that the Yankees have been under fire for not calling up top prospect Jasson Dominguez, an outfielder who performed really well in extremely limited time in 2023 before learning that he needed Tommy John Surgery. Brian Cashman's recent comments indicate that the Yankees will be sticking with Verdugo, and that they believe he gives the team a better chance to win than Jasson Dominguez would. Very few, if any, in the fanbase agree with that notion.
After posting a 127 wRC+ (100 is league average) in March and April, Verdugo posted marks of 90, 65, 74, 57, and 104 in the following months, according to FanGraphs. The mark of 104 so far in September is likely good enough for the Yankees, but it is unknown how sustainable that is. It is worth mentioning that Verdugo recently discovered he was allergic to a material in his batting gloves, and has performed better since making a switch to gloves that do not include that material.
Why are the Yankees not calling up Jasson Dominguez?
On the surface, Dominguez is putting up good numbers in the minor leagues. In Triple-A this season, Dominguez is batting .310 with a .366 on-base percentage and .488 slugging for an .854 OPS, according to Baseball Reference. He has seven home runs as well.
However, the possible concerns come when looking at his lefty/righty splits. Against right-handed pitchers this season, Dominguez has a slash line of .341/.406/.567 with a .973 OPS, according to Baseball Reference. Against left-handed pitchers, his slash line is at .200/.231/.280 with a .511 OPS. That is a staggering difference, and with Dominguez being a switch hitter, it could just be that the Yankees do not think he is ready to play in the major leagues right now.
This makes it puzzling that the Yankees called up Dominguez for one day to play in the Little League Classic against the Detroit Tigers, when left-handed pitcher and possibly the best pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal, took the mound.
The Yankees could still call up Dominguez in the next few weeks, but they are running out of time before the playoffs start.
