Full name is Austin Kenneth Wells...In two seasons at the University of Arizona, hit .357/.476/.560 (99-for-277) with 85 R, 21 doubles, seven triples, seven HR, 74 RBI and 63 BB in 71 games...In his pandemic-shortened sophomore year campaign, hit .375/.527/.589 (21-for-56) with 12 R, six doubles, two HR, 14 RBI and 17 BB in 15 games...Earned Second Team All-American honors by Collegiate Baseball...Was named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list...Batted .353 (78-for-221) with 73 R, 15 doubles, seven triples, five HR, 60 RBI and 46 BB in 56 games as a freshman in 2019...Was named Pac-12 “Freshman of the Year”...Earned First Team Freshman All-American honors by Baseball America, D1Baseball and the NCBWA...Named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game/Rawlings...Entering the 2020 draft, was ranked as the No. 21 overall draft prospect by Baseball America and the No. 27 prospect by MLB Pipeline...Was the fourth catcher to be chosen by the Yankees in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft since its inception in 1965, joining Anthony Seigler in 2018 (23rd overall, Cartersville H.S.), David Parrish in 2000 (28th overall, University of Michigan) and Thurman Munson in 1968 (fourth overall, Kent State University)...Attended Bishop Gorman (Nev.) H.S....Was named the 2016-17 Gatorade Nevada “Baseball Player of the Year” and was selected to the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game in 2017.
2024
In 115 games with the Yankees, hit .229/.322/.395 (81-for-354) with 42 R, 18 doubles, one triple, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 47 BB, 5 HBP and 7 SF...Made his first career Opening Day roster...His 13 HR were the second-most by a rookie catcher in a single season in franchise history, trailing only Gary Sánchez’s 20 HR in 2016...Finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting...Among AL rookies, was tied for fourth in walks (47) and game-winning RBI (eight), ranked fifth in OBP (.322, min. 350 PA), SLG (.395, min. 350 PA) and OPS (.718, min. 350 PA), tied for fifth in HR (13) and extra-base hits (32), and sixth in RBI (55) and go-ahead RBI (10)...According to FanGraphs (among position players), his 3.4 WAR ranked second among AL rookies and fifth among Major League rookies...His 3.4 WAR also ranked fourth among Major League catchers (second in AL)...According to Baseball Savant, ranked third in catcher framing runs (12) and fourth in fielding run value (13) among Major League catchers...His 3.79 catcher's ERA was the sixth-best in the AL and 10th-best in the Majors...Batted cleanup in the starting lineup 38 times, hitting .252/.329/.430 (38-for-151) with 15 R, seven doubles, one triple, six HR, 33 RBI and 17 BB...Over his first 29 games as the starting cleanup hitter from 7/20-9/12, hit .308/.368/.521 (36-for-117) with 13 R, five doubles, one triple, six HR, 28 RBI and 11 BB...Started 96 games at catcher...Was the starting catcher in 53 of the Yankees' final 74 games (7/4-9/29)...Recorded a career-high-tying three hits three times: 7/22 vs. Tampa Bay, 7/26 at Boston and 8/14 at Chicago-AL...Recorded a career-high-tying four RBI three times: 8/10-G1 vs. Texas, 8/30 vs. St. Louis and 9/9 vs. Kansas City...After hitting .086 (3-for-35) with four R, two RBI, nine BB, one SB and two SF over his first 14 games (3/29-4/23), hit .283/.363/.498 (70-for-247) with 33 R, 15 doubles, one triple, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 30 BB, three HP and four SF in his next 80 games from 4/24-8/31...Recorded a career-high 13-game on-base streak from 6/5-30...Reached base safely in 42 of his 46 starts from 6/5-8/31 and in 55 of his final 64 starts from 6/5-9/28...In 58 games from 6/6-8/31, hit .299/.388/.542 (53-for-177) with 26 R, eight doubles, one triple, 11 HR, 37 RBI, 25 BB, three HBP and four SF...Hit seven HR in 21 starts from 6/11-7/26, including four HR in eight starts from 6/29-7/13 and six HR in 15 starts from 6/29-7/26...Reached base in 25 of his 26 starts from 7/21-8/31, batting .333/.397/.571 (35-for-105) with 12 R, five doubles, one triple, six HR, 22 RBI, 11 BB, two HBP and three SF over that span...Recorded 34 RBI in his final 49 games (7/24-9/29)...Drove in a run in a career-high five straight games from 7/24-29...Also drove in a run in six straight starts from 7/22-29...Over his final 49 games (7/24-9/29), hit .300/.350/.540 (15-for-50) with four doubles, one triple, two HR, 29 RBI, one HBP, five BB and four SF with RISP...During the month of August, hit .325/.391/.545 (25-for-77) with six R, five doubles, four HR, 15 RBI, eight BB, one HBP and one SF in 22 games...Recorded his first career multi-HR game and tied his career high with four RBI on 8/30 vs. St. Louis, hitting a go-ahead two-run HR in the third inning and a two-run home run in the eighth inning...Was hit by a pitch on his hand on 9/2 at Texas...X-rays were negative...Did not play in the next two games from 9/3-4...Appeared in all 14 of the Yankees postseason games, making 12 starts at catcher...Batted .120 (6-for-50) with 3 R, 1 double, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 1 HP and 1 SB during the playoffs...Made his postseason debut in ALDS Game 1 vs. Kansas City and went 1-for-3 with two RBI and two BB...Was the seventh Yankee to reach base at least three times in their first career postseason game, joining Aaron Judge, Rey Sánchez, Bernie Williams, Fred Stanley, Roger Maris and Jake Powell (confirmed by Elias)...Hit his first career postseason home run in ALCS Game 4 at Cleveland with a solo shot in the second inning (1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI)...Became the first Yankees rookie catcher that started the game at the position to homer in a postseason game (Yogi Berra homered in 1947 World Series Game 3 as a pinch hitter and remained in the game at catcher)...Also homered in World Series Game 4 vs. Los Angeles-NL (2-for-3, 2 R, 1 double, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB)...Became just the fifth catcher in Yankees history to record a stolen base in the postseason, joining Jorge Posada (three times), Jim Leyritz, Thurman Munson and Bill Dickey.
2023
Saw his first Major League action, batting .229/.257/.486 (16-for-70) with 8R, 6 doubles, 4HR, 13RBI and 3BB in 19 games with the Yankees (9/1-10/1)...10 of his 16 hits went for extra bases (6 doubles, 4HR)…six of his 16 hits drove in a run...Batted .317/.333/.732 (13-for-41) with 7R, 5 doubles, 4HR, 10RBI and 1BB in his final 11 games (9/16-10/1) after hitting .103 (3-for-29) with 1R, 1 double, 3RBI and 2BB over his first eight games (9/1-14)...Was signed to a Major League contract and selected to the active roster on 9/1 and made his Major League debut that night, hitting a single in his first plate appearance (1-for-4)…was the first Yankee to make his Major League debut as a starting catcher since Mike Figga on 9/16/97-G2 vs. Boston…at 24 years, 51 days, was the ninth-youngest Yankee to make his Major League debut as the starting catcher and the youngest to do so since Thurman Munson (22 years, 62 days) on 8/8/69-G2 vs. Oakland…only John Ellis (20y, 269d on 5/17/69 vs. California), Yogi Berra (21y, 133d on 9/22/46-G1 vs. Philadelphia-AL), Ellie Rodriguez (22y, 2d on 5/26/68-G1 vs. Chicago-AL), Thurman Munson (22y, 62d on 8/8/69-G2 vs. Oakland), Johnny Blanchard (22y, 211d on 9/25/55-G2 at Boston), Roxy Walters (22y, 315d on 9/16/1915 vs. Chicago-AL), Joe Glenn (23y, 301d on 9/15/32 at Chicago-AL) and Charlie Silvera (23y, 352d on 9/29/48 at Philadelphia-AL) accomplished the feat at a younger age…was the first Yankee to make his Major League debut as a catcher since Kyle Higashioka on 4/10/17 vs. Tampa Bay...At the time of his call-up, was tabbed by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in the Yankees system and the No. 81 prospect in all of baseball…was also ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 8 prospect in the Yankees organization...With OF Jasson Domínguez also making his Major League debut on 9/1 at Houston, it marked the 12th time in franchise history two players made their Major League debuts as starters in the same game, the third such time in the last 54 years (since 1970) and fourth in the last 77 years (since 1947)…joined Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin on 8/13/16 vs. Tampa Bay, Dean Anna and Masahiro Tanaka on 4/4/14 at Toronto, and John Ellis and Jim Lyttle on 5/17/69 vs. California…also marked the seventh time in franchise history two players age 24-or-younger made their Major League debuts as starters in the same game…joined Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge on 8/13/16 vs. Tampa Bay, John Ellis and Jim Lyttle on 5/17/69 vs. California, Yogi Berra and Bobby Brown on 9/22/46-G1 vs. Philadelphia-AL, Billy Johnson and Snuffy Stirnweiss on 4/22/43 vs. Washington-AL, Ben Chapman and Dusty Cooke on 4/15/30 at Philadelphia-AL, and Howie Camp, Chick Fewster and Bill Lamar on 9/19/1917 vs. Cleveland...Recorded his first career RBI with a game-tying sac fly in the fifth inning on 9/2 at Houston…with Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira all driving in a run as well, it marked just the 12th time since 1920 (when RBI became an official stat) that the Yankees had four players age 24-or-younger record an RBI in the same game and just the second time in the last 68 years (since 1956)…John Ellis (21), Thurman Munson (23), Jerry Kenney (24) and Bobby Murcer (24) also did so on 6/21/70 at Boston (confirmed by Elias)...Was one of six Yankees players age 24-or-younger to start from 9/2-3 (also Oswaldo Cabrera, Jasson Domínguez, Oswald Peraza, Everson Pereira and Anthony Volpe)…it marked the first time the Yankees had six players age 24-or-younger start in the same game since 9/11/69 at Washington-AL and just the fifth and sixth such occurrences in the last 91 years (since 1933)…marked the first time since 9/18/32-G2 that the Yankees had six such position players start in the same game...Reached base safely in each of his final 10 starts from 9/16-10/1…collected at least one hit in nine of those games…also hit safely in 10 of his final 12 starts from 9/12(G2)-10/1...Hit his first Major League home run with a solo shot in the ninth inning off Erik Swanson on 9/20 vs. Toronto...Hit 4HR in a seven-game span from 9/20-29, including three in a four-game span from 9/25-29…homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his career from 9/25-26...Drove in eight runs over a four-game span from 9/25-29...Hit his second career HR on a game-tying two-run shot in the fourth inning on 9/25 vs. Arizona...Homered in his second straight game and broke a scoreless tie in the ninth inning on 9/26 at Toronto with a two-run HR…was just the seventh Yankee (eighth time) in the last 42 years (since 1982) to break a scoreless tie with a HR in the ninth inning-or-later, joining Aaron Judge (twice: ninth inning on 7/28/22 vs. Kansas City and 13th inning on 6/16/18 at Toronto), Gary Sánchez (ninth inning on 5/1/18 at Houston), Chris Young (11th inning on 9/12/14-G1 at Baltimore), Alex Rodriguez (15th inning on 8/7/09 vs. Boston), Ruben Sierra (ninth inning on 7/22/04 vs. Toronto) and Cecil Fielder (10th inning on 8/2/96 at Kansas City)...Recorded a career-high 4RBI and hit his fourth career HR — a three-run shot in the fourth inning — on 9/29 at Kansas City. Recorded a career-high 3H in his final game of the season on 10/1 at Kansas City, including a career-high two doubles...Combined to hit .240/.333/.442 (89-for-371) with 46R, 24 doubles, 17HR, 72RBI, 48BB and 7SB in 96 games with Single-A Tampa (rehab assignment), Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre...Began the season on the minor league injured list due to a fractured rib…played in five rehab games with Single-A Tampa, batting .176 (3-for-17) with 2R, 1HR, 2RBI and 3BB…was reinstated with Somerset on 5/2...In 58 games with Double-A Somerset, batted .237/.327/.443 (54-for-228) with 28R, 14 doubles, 11HR, 50RBI, 29BB and 5SB...Was promoted to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on 7/21…hit .254/.349/.452 (32-for-126) with 16R, 10 doubles, 5HR, 20RBI, 16BB and 2SB in 33 games with the RailRiders.
2022
Combined with High-A Hudson Valley, Single-A Tampa and Double-A Somerset, batting .277/.385/.512 (93-for-336) with 60R, 17 doubles, one triple, 20 HR, 65 RBI, 56 BB and 16 SB in 92 games…among Yankees farmhands, ranked second in SLG, tied for second in RBI, tied for third in HR and fifth in OPS (.897)…began the year with Hudson Valley, batting .323/.429/.576 (32-for-99) with 21 R, seven doubles, six HR, 16 RBI, 19 BB and nine SB in 28 games…was assigned to Tampa on 6/24, where he hit .231 (6-for-26) with five runs, two doubles, two HR, six RBI and eight BB in nine games…was promoted to Somerset on 7/5, where he finished the season…in 55 games with the Patriots, he hit .261/.360/.479 (55-for-211) with 34R, eight doubles, one triple, 12 HR, 43 RBI, 29 BB and seven SB…following the season, was ranked by Baseball America as the Yankees’ No. 5 prospect and the No. 94 overall prospect in baseball…was also labeled by the publication as the “Best Power Hitter” among Yankees farmhands…was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star.
2021
Made his professional debut, hitting .264 (101-for-382) with 82R, 23 doubles, 5 triples, 16HR, 76RBI, 71BB and 16SB in 103 games with Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley…ranked among Yankees minor leaguers in walks (second), runs scored (second), RBI (third), OPS (fourth, .866), triples (tied for fourth) and extra-base hits (fifth, 44)…began the season with Tampa, hitting .258 (61-for-236) with 61R, 17 doubles, 4 triples, 9HR, 54RBI, 51BB and 11SB over 65 games…his 61R were tied for the fifth-most in the Low-A Southeast… on 7/8 at Dunedin, went 3-for-3 with 4R, 1 double, 1HR, 6RBI and 2BB in the Tarpons’ 21-2 win…was promoted to Hudson Valley on 8/3…in 38 games with the Renegades, hit .274 (40-for-146) with 21R, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 7HR, 22RBI, 20BB and 5SB…recorded a career-high 5H on 9/5 at Greensboro (5-for-6, 2R, 1HR, 1RBI, 1BB)…following the season, played in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros, hitting .344/.456/.578 (22-for-64) with 14R, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2HR, 18RBI, 13BB and 1SB in 18 games… was named the AZL “Player of the Week” for 10/18-23 after hitting .538/.600/1.154 (7-for-13) with 3R, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1HR, 5RBI and 2BB over three games…was also named to the West Division’s roster for the AFL “Fall Stars Game” on 11/13…following the season, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in the Yankees organization…was labeled the No. 6 prospect in the Yankees system by MLB Pipeline…was also named a Organization All-Star by MiLB.com.
2020
Selected by the Yankees in the first round (28th overall) of the First-Year Player Draft...Following the season, was named the Yankees’ No. 5 prospect by Baseball America.
