(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
New York Yankees rookie catcher Austin Wells has loads of offensive potential.
Between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 16 home runs and rated average or above average in both levels.
He is now in the major leagues, as the Yankees continue to audition rookies for potential 2024 roles.
For all his offensive upside, he also comes with questions about his defense.
He is considered a slightly below-average defensive backstop, with a rather weak arm.
However, he has been working hard to improve because he knows that his offensive game will give him a starting gig in MLB if he can remain behind the plate.
First, it was Yankees catching coordinator Tanner Swanson as the one who praised Wells’ work as a catcher.
Now, a member of the starting rotation said how wonderful it was to work with him.
“Michael King went out of his way to praise Austin Wells as a receiver, as many #Yankees Ps did this series. ‘He had a great gameplan going in. He’s phenomenal at adjusting & a real great communicator. We had a ton of conversations in between innings… I loved working with him,’” the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips tweeted after a chat with King.
Michael King went out of his way to praise Austin Wells as a receiver, as many #Yankees Ps did this series.
“He had a great gameplan going in. He’s phenomenal at adjusting & a real great communicator. We had a ton of conversations in between innings… I loved working with him.”
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) September 4, 2023
It’s not uncommon when teammates praise the work of rookies: they are not going to publicly expose them.
However, the results speak for themselves: in King’s latest start, against the Houston Astros on Sunday (on the road, no less), he pitched five innings of one-run ball, with a 0/4 BB/K ratio to boot.
The evidence is there to say that Wells was successful handling King’s start.
If he can prove he can do it on a daily basis, stardom awaits Wells.
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