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Top Yankees catching prospect Austin Wells embraces promotion to Somerset – The Trentonian

Written by Amanda

Top Yankees catching prospect Austin Wells embraces promotion to Somerset  The Trentonian

BRIDGEWATER — Austin Wells was rehabbing a groin injury during a July 4 game with the Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees’ Low-A affiliate, when manager Rachel Balkovec summoned the catcher into her office.

She joked that Wells would be remaining in Tampa for another month before revealing that he had in fact been called up to Double-A and was ticketed for Somerset.

“I was pumped,” Wells said this week from his new home dugout at TD Bank Ballpark. “I’m excited to be back. I was itching to get back up to wherever I was headed. I’m glad it’s here, so I’m just ready to put my head down and start playing.”

Wells, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees’ fourth-best prospect and top catching prospect, has spent most of the season at High-A Hudson Valley. He tore the cover off of baseballs with 13 extra-base hits, a .323 batting average and a 1.005 OPS in 121 plate appearances, so the Yankees’ 2020 first-round pick clearly was not long for the lower levels of the system.

“It’s a nice step along the way,” Wells said. “It’s not the end goal, so I want to keep continuing to progress and work hard. The energy here though is great, like the fans hopefully just keep getting better at every level. I know here we get a good showing out so (Wednesday night) was fun and the energy in the clubhouse was great. I played with a bunch of these guys before, so it’s nice to be up here and be around them again.”

From a hitting perspective, there is seemingly no limit to Wells’ upside. He walks at a high rate (15.7 percent at Hudson Valley), makes hard contact to all fields (34.7 percent line-drive rate at Hudson Valley) and routinely elevates the ball (50 percent fly-ball rate at Hudson Valley).

For Somerset manager Dan Fiorito, the decision to insert Wells into the three-hole is easy. With Anthony Volpe, Elijah Dunham and Wells, the Patriots boast arguably the most talented opening lineup in the Eastern League.

“He brings a great presence, not only in the clubhouse but behind the plate and in the batting order,” Fiorito said. “Just with the bat, he’s a professional hitter. The barrel awareness, control the zone, power to all fields. He’s someone who does it all, so it’s awesome to have him out there every single night.”

Wells’ hitting prowess is particularly valuable at a position like catcher, although some scouts question his long-term viability at that spot. Elbow problems in high school have resulted in issues with arm strength, transfer speed and passed balls. So one school of thought is that a shift to left field could maximize his offensive production at a less demanding position.

Austin Wells, the Yankees' top catching prospect, was called up to Double-A on Wednesday. (Somerset Patriots Photo)
Austin Wells, the Yankees’ top catching prospect, was called up to Somerset on Wednesday. (Somerset Patriots Photo)

Still, the best-case scenario for the Yankees is for Wells to thrive behind the plate, and he remains confident that his growth in pro ball will help him reach that goal.

For example, last year he began throwing weight balls to enhance his arm strength and overall rhythm.

“I think I’ve made progress since I’ve got in the organization,” Wells said. “Positively the whole way with receiving, catching and throwing the ball really. So I’m happy with where it’s at and I want to continue to progress with that.”

While moving up from Tampa to Hudson Valley to Somerset in the last 15 months, Wells says the key for him is finding comfortability with each staff and developing rapports with pitchers. Fortunately he has risen in the system with some of the same pitchers, but other Patriots he hasn’t seen since spring training.

“That’s what I feel like I’ve been better at every level just because I’ve gotten more comfortable being around the same guys. Knowing what they throw, where they miss, so it’s easier to kind of have that mental approach going into the game being a catcher knowing what your pitchers are going to do,” Wells said. “The more times that I catch a pitcher, the more comfortable I feel with them. We have a better relationship, pitch calling, knowing what they want to do and what their attack plan is versus hitters. The more you get to be together, the stronger that relationship is and there’s more trust between the pitcher and catcher. The first couple weeks that’s all my focus is really gonna be is just having them be comfortable with me and me comfortable with them.”

Wells, who turns 23 on Tuesday, has a special bond with the Yankees because they actually drafted him twice — once in the 35th round out of Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas) and then two years later out of the University of Arizona.

“Going to Arizona was the best thing that could’ve happened for me. I grew as a person and a player tremendously, offensively and defensively, and just as a leader on a team. That was a lot thanks to the coaching staff there, so that was big,” Wells said. “Just being drafted by the Yankees twice, it’s great. We had a great relationship the first time around, so getting to be with them again is just a really awesome opportunity.”

Volpe, the Yankees’ top prospect who played with Wells at Hudson Valley last year, said he seamlessly welcomed his mustached friend into a new clubhouse.

“We were all hoping for it and expecting it probably about now,” Volpe said. “But it’s awesome. It feels like the band is back together. That’s what were we all saying, so it’s super exciting.”

Source: trentonian.com

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Amanda

Hi there, I am Amanda and I work as an editor at impactinvesting.ai;  if you are interested in my services, please reach me at amanda.impactinvesting.ai

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