In the tight-knit world of baseball in the Dominican Republic, the legend of the kid spread quickly. He was a switch-hitter with world-class speed, an arm nobody would challenge and the body of a man. Someone called him El Marciano, and the nickname stuck. The Martian, it meant. Because there was no way he was from this world.
The praise for Jasson Dominguez started when he was barely a teenager, and it abounds still. And come this Tuesday, when he is expected to formalize a deal with the New York Yankees that includes a $5 million signing bonus, the 16-year-old center fielder instantaneously will become the most fascinating prospect for the game's most storied team, his debut next year eagerly anticipated by those who haven't seen him as well as by those who have.