NCAA Baseball News

Cats in the Pros: Austin Wells Called Up to Yankees

Cats in the Pros: Austin Wells Called Up to Yankees


TUCSON, Ariz. — Former Arizona Baseball star catcher Austin Wells (2019-20) has earned his way to the Major Leagues, having been called up to the New York Yankees on Friday morning.
 

Upon his debut, Wells will become the 94th Wildcat to appear in the Major Leagues. He will be the second to make his debut this season, following César Salazar with the Houston Astros in April. He will not have to wait long for his MLB debut, as he was listed in the Yankees starting lineup for Friday evening in Houston, batting seventh and catching.
 

Wells, a second-generation Wildcat, was a consensus Freshman All-American and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in his first collegiate campaign in 2019 before earning preseason All-America nods heading into his sophomore campaign.

Across 71 games in an Arizona uniform, Wells posted a eye-popping .357 batting average to go along with 85 runs scored, 21 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs, and 74 RBI. As a freshman in 2019 he drew more walks (46) than strikeouts (43) and posted a .462 on-base percentage to set the program freshman record.

 

Following his illustrious Arizona career, Wells was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He has since logged time in 291 Minor League games and posted a .260 batting average with 188 runs scored, 64 doubles, six triples, 53 home runs, and 213 RBI. Wells was hitting .254 with 16 runs, 15 extra-base hits, and 20 RBI during a 33 game stint with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre prior to his call up.

At the time of his selection, Wells was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Yankees farm system and the No. 81 overall prospect in the minors according to Baseball America.

 

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