Austin Wells #28

Austin Wells was drafted in the 1st round (No. 28 overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees out of the University of Arizona... signed with the Yankees for $2.5 million on June 26, 2020... won the Pacific-12 Conference Freshman of the Year Award with Arizona and was named the Cape Cod League's top prospect in 2019, his lone full college season, before signing for $2.5 million with New York as a sophomore-eligible catcher... made his Yankees debut in 2021 after the 2020 season was wiped out by the Covid-19 pandemic... in 103 games between Tampa and Hudson Valley, Wells hit .264 with 16 homers, 76 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and 101 hits... saw time at three levels of the Minors in 2022, mostly at Double-A Somerset -- in 92 games, he hit .277 with 20 homers, 65 RBIs, 16 steals and 93 hits and was voted an MiLB.com Organization Yankees All-Star... finished the 2022 season ranked as the Yankees' No. 4 prospect... entered 2023 as the Yankees' No. 4 prospect and moved up to No. 2 halfway through the season... was invited to Major League Spring Training by the Yankees in 2023 but missed the majority of it with a broken rib

2023

Suffered a fracture of his 12th rib in the beginning of Spring Training in Tampa, Florida and was expected to miss 6-8 weeks... was initially diagnosed with a bruised rib and Wells said he was unsure how the injury occurred. “Just a freak thing,” he said. “I all of a sudden was like, ‘That doesn’t feel very good.’ Then over time, it got better, got worse, got better, got worse,"... made his 2023 debut on April 25 during a rehab assignment with Tampa... rejoined Double-A Somerset on May 2... notably helped Yankees teammate Anthony Volpe over a chicken parm dinner on June 12... ranked as the Yankees' No. 2 prospect as of June 2023, according to MLB.com

2022

Was hot out of the gate with Hudson Valley, batting .323 with a 1.005 OPS in 28 games, but was sidelined for five weeks after being hit in the groin by a foul tip... played nine games in Tampa before being sent straight to Somerset, where he finished with an .839 OPS and 12 homers in 55 games... finished with a personal-best 20 homers and a .277/.385/.512 line

2021

Split his first season with the Yankees between Tampa and Hudson Valley... was voted an MiLB.com Organization Yankees All-Star... played for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League, where he was the Player of the Week on 10/23/21 and was voted to the AFL Rising Stars Game