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Austin Wells

Austin Kenneth Wells (born July 12, 1999) is an American professional baseball catcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the University of Arizona, and the Yankees selected him in the first round of the 2020 MLB draft. Wells made his MLB debut in 2023.[1][2]

Austin Wells
Wells with the Somerset Patriots in 2022
New York Yankees – No. 28
Catcher
Born: (1999-07-12) July 12, 1999 (age 25)
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2023, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.229
Home runs17
Runs batted in68
Teams

Early life

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Wells grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. His parents were athletes at the University of Arizona; his father, Greg, played baseball and his mother, Michelle, of Dominican descent, was a gymnast.[3][2] His brother Carson played baseball and his brother Mason played lacrosse.[4][5]

Amateur career

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Wells attended Bishop Gorman High School, and played catcher for the baseball team. As a junior, he was named the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year and a second team All-American by USA Today and played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game after finishing the season with a .500 batting average with eight home runs and 47 runs batted in (RBIs).[6] He committed to play college baseball at the University of Arizona during his junior year.[7]

Wells injured the elbow of his throwing arm during his senior season, requiring surgery. He could not catch during his senior year, but played as a designated hitter, limiting the interest he had drawn from Major League Baseball (MLB) teams.[3][8] As a senior, he batted .527 with 20 doubles, six triples and four home runs while scoring 46 runs and batting in 46 runs. The New York Yankees selected Wells in the 35th round of the 2018 MLB draft, but he opted not to sign and enrolled at Arizona.[9][10]

As a true freshman for the Arizona Wildcats, Wells batted .353 with 73 runs, 15 doubles, seven triples, five home runs and 60 RBIs and was named the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year.[3][11][12][13] Following the end of the season Wells played for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league All-Star and was awarded the Robert A. McNeese Outstanding Pro Prospect Award after hitting .308 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs.[14][15][16][17]

Baseball America and the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper named Wells a second team preseason All-American and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named him to their third team. Wells also was named to the watchlist for the Golden Spikes Award going into his sophomore season.[18][19][20] Wells batted .375 with two home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.116 OPS in 15 games before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.[21]

Professional career

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The New York Yankees selected Wells in the first round, with the 28th overall selection, of the 2020 MLB draft.[22] Wells signed with the Yankees on June 25 for a $2.5 million signing bonus.[23][24]

The Yankees invited Wells to spring training in 2021 as a non-roster player.[25] They assigned him to the Low-A Tampa Tarpons to start the 2021 minor league season and promoted him to the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades in late July.[26][27] The Covid pandemic would not slow him down; he finished the season hitting a combined .264/.390/.476 over 103 games, hitting 16 home runs with 76 RBIs.[28] After the season, the Yankees assigned Wells the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.[28]

Wells began the 2022 season with Hudson Valley, and was promoted to the Double-A Somerset Patriots in July.[29] He broke a rib during spring training, delaying the start of his 2023 season with Somerset.[30] On July 21, the Yankees promoted Wells to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.[31]

On September 1, 2023, the Yankees promoted Wells to the major leagues for the first time.[32] Wells made his debut that night, recording his first MLB hit in his first at bat against Justin Verlander.[33] On September 20, Wells hit his first career home run, a 416-foot solo shot to right field off of pitcher Erik Swanson during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.[34] The rookie catcher hit two back-to-back homers against Arizona and Toronto playing a key role in his team's victories. On September 25, he hit a home run in the fourth to eliminate the Diamondbacks' lead and also gave the Yankees the lead with another run in the eighth.[35] Next day, his two-run homer clutch hit in the ninth, the third home run in five days, allowed the Yankees to secure a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.[36]

References

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  1. ^ "Austin Wells, el debut dominicano en MLB que pasó desapercibido". ESPN.com.ar (in Spanish). September 2, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "¿Cuáles son las raíces latinas del prospecto de los Yankees Austin Wells?". Fansided ES (in Spanish). March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Lev, Michael (February 13, 2020). "The wonderful life of Arizona's Austin Wells, workaholic Wildcat and would-be first-round draft pick". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  4. ^ Emerson, Justin (April 18, 2018). "Wells brothers carry fraternal bond to Bishop Gorman baseball". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Austin Wells, nieto de criollo, se apunta para receptoría NYY". Diario Libre (in Spanish). July 7, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "Austin Wells aiming to be next Las Vegas star to hit it big in MLB". USATodayHSS.com. August 1, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Emerson, Justin (April 18, 2018). "Wells brothers carry fraternal bond to Bishop Gorman baseball". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  8. ^ Kuty, Brendan (August 22, 2023). "Why Yankees' Austin Wells could be next prospect headed to New York". The Athletic. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Emerson, Justin (June 6, 2018). "Bishop Gorman's Austin Wells among Las Vegas players chosen in MLB Draft". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Lev, Michael (June 8, 2018). "After mostly favorable MLB draft, Wildcats have makings of more talented roster". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Barr, Jason (February 12, 2020). "It's a family affair for Wells and Arias Jr". KGUN9.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Mortensen, Christian (May 29, 2019). "Arizona baseball's Austin Wells named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year". AZDesertSwarm.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  13. ^ Cicala, Paul (June 10, 2019). "UA duo make freshman All American Team". KVOA.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Lev, Michael (January 21, 2020). "Arizona Wildcats catcher Austin Wells receives another preseason All-America accolade". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  15. ^ Cavadi, Wayne (July 10, 2019). "9 college baseball bats tearing up the Cape Cod Baseball League". NCAA.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  16. ^ MacLone, Rich (August 9, 2019). "Cape League Announces Awards". The Bourne Enterprise. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  17. ^ "#16 Austin Wells". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  18. ^ McCulloch, Bill (January 28, 2020). "Austin Wells Picks Up Multiple Preseason All-America Honors". 520SportsTalk.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  19. ^ "2020 MLB Draft: A Conversation With Austin Wells". Baseball America. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  20. ^ "Arizona Wildcats catcher Austin Wells named second-team preseason All-American". Arizona Daily Star. January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  21. ^ Pedersen, Brian J. (March 19, 2020). "MLB considering canceling 2020 amateur draft to recoup coronavirus losses, per report". AZDesertSwarm.com. SB Nation. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  22. ^ Caldera, Pete (June 10, 2020). "MLB Draft: New York Yankees select Austin Wells, catcher out of Arizona, in first round". app.com. USA Today. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  23. ^ Holmlund, Ted (June 26, 2020). "Austin Wells is in the fold: 'Officially a Yankee!'". New York Post. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  24. ^ "Yankees, catcher Austin Wells agree to minor league deal, $2.5M bonus". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  25. ^ "Yanks' 2020 pick Austin Wells invited to spring training". New York Daily News. February 17, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  26. ^ Ruiz, Mike (July 31, 2021). "Yankees farm report: Wells, Volpe succeeding in Class A". Newsday. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  27. ^ "With new faces, Hudson Valley Renegades have firm grasp of first place". The Poughkeepsie Journal. August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Wells leads 8 prospects named to AFL roster". MLB.com. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  29. ^ Johnson, Greg (August 25, 2022). "No. 4 Yankees prospect Austin Wells growing as catcher, adjusting to Double-A pitching – Trentonian". Trentonian.com. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  30. ^ "Yankees prospect Austin Wells back raking after spring injury, impresses Luis Severino with catching". nj.com. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  31. ^ "Austin Wells Promoted From Double-A Somerset To Triple-A Scranton". MiLB.com. July 21, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  32. ^ "Jasson Dominguez And Austin Wells Called Up To Yankees | Patriots". Milb.com. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  33. ^ "Big-time big-league debut for Jasson Dominguez on milestone night for the Yankees". Northjersey.com. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  34. ^ "Austin Wells first home run travels 416 feet". Northjersey.com. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  35. ^ Martin, Dan (September 26, 2023). "Fans got a peek at Yankees' future in soggy final home game". New York Post. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  36. ^ "Batting brilliance: Austin Wells' show-stopping debut month with the Yankees". Pinstripesnation.com. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
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