ST. STEVEN Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 One of my favorite dynasty catchers, though it is no certainty he plays much C in the bigs...but the bat will play about anywhere and he's a decent bet to be a Varsho type. Yankees' Austin Wells: Impressing in High-A ball Wells is slashing .325/.421/1.009 with five home runs, 14 RBI and eight stolen bases through 22 games with High-A Hudson Valley. The 28th overall pick in the 2020 MLB first-year player draft, Wells swatted 16 homers and stole 16 bases across two minor-league levels in 2021. He has continued to display an impressive mix of power and base-stealing acumen while boosting his batting average this season. Wells is 24-for-24 in stolen base attempts throughout his professional career, which is especially eye-opening considering his position. He should be in AA within a few weeks, and it will give us a better idea how good he could be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST. STEVEN Posted June 24, 2022 Author Share Posted June 24, 2022 Yankees' Austin Wells: Reinstated from injured list Wells (groin) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list and transferred to Single-A Tampa on Friday, Matt Kardos of MLB.com reports. Wells began the 2022 season at High-A Hudson Valley and slashed .323/.429/.576 with six homers, 21 runs, 16 RBI and nine stolen bases. However, he'll head to Tampa for the minor-league equivalent of a rehab assignment after spending just over a month on the injured list due to a right groin injury. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigPapi44 Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 Homered in his first rehab game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST. STEVEN Posted July 29, 2022 Author Share Posted July 29, 2022 It took him a minute to get his timing back after getting promoted to AA...but he is now up to a 12 game hit streak and has a HR in 3 straight games. Up to .298/.397 with a .936 OPS and 11 HR on the season, also 9 SB with 0 CS...in his brief 2 years in pro ball he has 25 SB and has never been caught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST. STEVEN Posted September 1, 2022 Author Share Posted September 1, 2022 Homered in back to back games about 10 days ago, now has homered in 3 straight games (in AA)... This is a 1st Rd pick that is mostly catching, a lefty batter that is likely to call Yankee Stadium home very soon. In what amounts to basically 1 jumbo season of games-- his career stats climbing the ladder are .271/.390 with nearly a .900 OPS, 34 HR with 27 SB and 0 CS...his numbers are better than that across the board in higher minors this year. I am honestly dumbfounded at the lack of hype for this guy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicksDigTheOPS Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 (edited) his athleticism and bat speed don't pop on film, but the numbers are consistently excellent, and with the Yankee Stadium porch in his future, there's reason for excitement. I'll put a realistic floor as "Justin Smoak career" or a rich man's Lucas Duda with a ceiling of Max Muncy / Rhys Hoskins. Edited September 2, 2022 by ChicksDigTheOPS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST. STEVEN Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 Noticed some interesting info posted on the Athletic yesterday: “It’s basically been that (way) since before I got drafted,” Wells said of his doubters. “There’s always been that doubt and there’s still that doubt. I feel like continuing to prove that I can play the position at a higher level is the goal, and not necessarily because of what other people say but because I want to be the catcher of the New York Yankees. I want to be an All-Star catcher. I want to be known for not just being able to hit. I want to do both, and I want to do both extremely well. The more that people say I can’t, it definitely fires me up to work harder and be in a better spot each day.” "Wells said the Yankees have only discussed his future behind the plate. No conversations have taken place regarding a potential position change." "Wells had promising results this season in the minors. His defensive metrics from 2021, his first season in the Yankees organization, to 2022 show improvement behind the plate. Wells’ caught stealing percentage jumped from 13 percent in 2021 to 25 percent in 2022. His passed balls dropped from 16 to 4 this season. His framing runs above average went from 2.6 to 9.4 in 2022. Wells credits his development to working with both Aaron Gershenfeld, the Yankees’ minor-league defensive coordinator, and defensive coach Aaron Bossi, who have helped him become better at blocking, receiving and improving his release. The positive metrics have only strengthened Wells’ desire to prove to everyone that he belongs behind the plate." “Being a catcher is a priority because I love the grind of the position,” Wells said. “Getting beat up and coming back the next day and going out there like nothing happened the night before — I love that and it drives me to play the game of baseball, because being back there is a different feeling. “Arguably the highest priority of my game is to be a catcher.” "His bat has never been in question; he finished 2022 with 20 home runs, an OPS of .897 and has never had lower than a 129 wRC+ any stop in the minors. The major-league wRC+ average for all catchers in 2022 was 89. His chase rate of 16.6 percent would have ranked second in the majors this season behind Max Muncy." "The future of MLB likely features an automatic strike zone, which will put less emphasis on framing. Both Jose Trevino’s and Kyle Higashioka’s value to the Yankees is largely tied to how well they frame pitches. With bigger bases coming this season, throwing out runners at high rates will be important for catchers because the league expects stolen base attempts to rise. With what Wells showed in 2022 at High A and Double A, the Yankees are encouraged by his progress and believe he’ll be ready to catch when his time comes." “He’s produced at above-average rates from a receiving standpoint and he’s made significant improvements as a thrower, so holistically you’re looking at a guy who, from a tangible skill set, that has really grown in all three important areas.” "The Yankees have not told Wells where he’ll report just yet for the 2023 season, but it’s likely he’ll start the year in Triple A after a successful year in Double A where he helped Somerset win a title. If the bat continues to be as impressive as it’s been and he’s still showing signs of improvement behind the plate, it’s possible he could be a late call-up this season. The Yankees need more left-handed hitting, and Wells provides that, even if he does have to play a different position such as first base or left field. In college, Wells played some first base and every outfield position, so it won’t be totally new for him." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontclapGonorrhea Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 On 1/28/2023 at 8:17 PM, ST. STEVEN said: Noticed some interesting info posted on the Athletic yesterday: “It’s basically been that (way) since before I got drafted,” Wells said of his doubters. “There’s always been that doubt and there’s still that doubt. I feel like continuing to prove that I can play the position at a higher level is the goal, and not necessarily because of what other people say but because I want to be the catcher of the New York Yankees. I want to be an All-Star catcher. I want to be known for not just being able to hit. I want to do both, and I want to do both extremely well. The more that people say I can’t, it definitely fires me up to work harder and be in a better spot each day.” "Wells said the Yankees have only discussed his future behind the plate. No conversations have taken place regarding a potential position change." "Wells had promising results this season in the minors. His defensive metrics from 2021, his first season in the Yankees organization, to 2022 show improvement behind the plate. Wells’ caught stealing percentage jumped from 13 percent in 2021 to 25 percent in 2022. His passed balls dropped from 16 to 4 this season. His framing runs above average went from 2.6 to 9.4 in 2022. Wells credits his development to working with both Aaron Gershenfeld, the Yankees’ minor-league defensive coordinator, and defensive coach Aaron Bossi, who have helped him become better at blocking, receiving and improving his release. The positive metrics have only strengthened Wells’ desire to prove to everyone that he belongs behind the plate." “Being a catcher is a priority because I love the grind of the position,” Wells said. “Getting beat up and coming back the next day and going out there like nothing happened the night before — I love that and it drives me to play the game of baseball, because being back there is a different feeling. “Arguably the highest priority of my game is to be a catcher.” "His bat has never been in question; he finished 2022 with 20 home runs, an OPS of .897 and has never had lower than a 129 wRC+ any stop in the minors. The major-league wRC+ average for all catchers in 2022 was 89. His chase rate of 16.6 percent would have ranked second in the majors this season behind Max Muncy." "The future of MLB likely features an automatic strike zone, which will put less emphasis on framing. Both Jose Trevino’s and Kyle Higashioka’s value to the Yankees is largely tied to how well they frame pitches. With bigger bases coming this season, throwing out runners at high rates will be important for catchers because the league expects stolen base attempts to rise. With what Wells showed in 2022 at High A and Double A, the Yankees are encouraged by his progress and believe he’ll be ready to catch when his time comes." “He’s produced at above-average rates from a receiving standpoint and he’s made significant improvements as a thrower, so holistically you’re looking at a guy who, from a tangible skill set, that has really grown in all three important areas.” "The Yankees have not told Wells where he’ll report just yet for the 2023 season, but it’s likely he’ll start the year in Triple A after a successful year in Double A where he helped Somerset win a title. If the bat continues to be as impressive as it’s been and he’s still showing signs of improvement behind the plate, it’s possible he could be a late call-up this season. The Yankees need more left-handed hitting, and Wells provides that, even if he does have to play a different position such as first base or left field. In college, Wells played some first base and every outfield position, so it won’t be totally new for him." Everytime i watched him play with Tampa he outperformed Volpe and Domingo. Two years ago, we could look back and be like wow the Tampa Tarpons were loaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST. STEVEN Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 Since he shook off the rust on rehab in A ball he has been mashing in AA. A hit in all 6 games including a HR in each of his last 4 games--with a SB last night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST. STEVEN Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 Multi hits in 3 of last 4 games including back-to-back games with a HR and a SB. The catcher still has yet to ever be caught stealing in his career, a perfect 34/34. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Hayes Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Any chance he’s up this year or are we realistically talking about 2024 at the earliest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST. STEVEN Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 2 minutes ago, Von Hayes said: Any chance he’s up this year or are we realistically talking about 2024 at the earliest? Definitely a chance--esp if they just want to utilize his bat. He should be in AAA within a matter of days and then can earn his way to the bigs from there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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