Headlines

  • Giants Acquire Rafael Devers
  • Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday
  • Roki Sasaki No Longer Throwing; No Timetable For Return
  • Nationals To Promote Brady House
  • White Sox, Brewers Swap Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn
  • Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Sign First-Rounder Austin Wells

By Connor Byrne | June 25, 2020 at 9:37pm CDT

The Yankees have signed 28th overall pick Austin Wells, he announced on Twitter. The catcher agreed to a $2.5MM bonus, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports. That just about matches the $2,493,900 recommended slot value of his selection.

The Yankees have long been after Wells, whom they drafted in the 35th round in 2018. But Wells elected to attend the University of Arizona, where he upped his stock by slashing .357/.476/.560 with seven home runs in 351 plate appearances. As a result, the 20-year-old went into this month’s draft ranking in the vicinity of where the Yankees took him, as Baseball America rated Wells 21st among available prospects, MLB.com placed him 27th, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel put him at 36, FanGraphs had him 40th, and he checked in at 44 on the list of Keith Law of The Athletic.

As his numbers with the Wildcats show, Wells thrived as a hitter in college, and MLB.com writes he “has power to all fields, with good timing and a simple setup at the plate.” There are questions over whether Wells will make it as a catcher in the pros, but his bat and athleticism could make him a viable first baseman or corner outfielder if he doesn’t stick at his current spot. MLB.com likens Wells to the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber, an ex-catcher who has become a slugging outfielder in the majors.

Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

2020 Amateur Draft 2020 Amateur Draft Signings New York Yankees Transactions Austin Wells

Diamondbacks Sign First-Round Pick Bryce Jarvis
Main
Amateur Draft Signings: 6/25/20
View Comments (26)
Post a Comment

26 Comments

  1. Al Hirschen

    5 years ago

    Good move

    Reply
    • Captain Dunsel

      5 years ago

      Wells done.

      Reply
    • afsooner02

      5 years ago

      Good move to sign your first round draft pick?

      I guess….I mean what were your options? Save money? When in the history of planet earth have the Yankees ever done that…..

      2
      Reply
      • NY_Yankee

        5 years ago

        Here was the problem: The Yankees only had three picks, and the second lowest amount of money to spend, and took two players Wells ( Boras ) and Beck Way ( LSU commit) that looked like difficult signs, which is why getting Wells at slot, is huge, because they do not leave a lot of wiggle room to get those two signed.

        1
        Reply
  2. pinballwizard1969

    5 years ago

    One down 2 to go. Good to see the Yankees add a catching prospect to their system and a left handed bat.

    1
    Reply
    • Warisalie

      5 years ago

      Agreed they need the lefty bat. Hopefully he can actually stay behind the plate. I would hate to see him just hit the crap out of the ball and have as many passes balls as the fella already back there. Love Sanchez bat but we don’t need Gary Sanchez 2.0.

      Reply
      • jonnyzuck

        5 years ago

        Sanchez is still probably a top 5 catcher in baseball so Gary Sanchez 2.0 would be a great outcome for the 28th overall pick

        1
        Reply
  3. Dorothy_Mantooth

    5 years ago

    Let’s hope the kid moves quickly through the system and remains a catcher. The Yankees really need to get that disaster (Gary Sanchez) out from behind the plate ASAP. I’ve never seen so many passed balls on catchable pitches in my life! Sanchez’s future is either at DH or 1B; his defense, framing and game calling are all Achilles heels for a championship-level team. In this upcoming short season, Boone needs to figure out how to minimize his time behind the plate as he can cost them games being back there. You just can’t keep his bat out of the lineup; his power is impressive. He also needs to start taking his conditioning more seriously. He could literally eat his way out of the lineup (and a big FA payday) if he’s not careful.

    1
    Reply
    • puddles

      5 years ago

      smh

      2
      Reply
    • higgy5220

      5 years ago

      Yikes

      1
      Reply
    • fair-critic

      5 years ago

      big yikes

      1
      Reply
    • pjc1966

      5 years ago

      Sanchez cut his passed balls down dramatically last season, at the expense of framing. The new catching coach, Tanner Swanson was working with him this spring on making adjustments to improve the framing without sacrificing pitch blocking. Unfortunately, COVID interrupted that, but Swanson has gotten results in the past with Mitch Garver, so I’m hopeful. Sanchez is very good with executing a game plan with pitchers and has a cannon for an arm (h/t Frank Costanza, RIP). He’s still fairly young, and if he can stay healthy, he can still become a plus defender.

      3
      Reply
      • Eatdust666

        5 years ago

        Yes he did as well as for wild pitches (45 to 30), but unfortunately he had a career worst 15 errors, making it his 2nd season with double errors as he committed 13 in 2017, but he’s not completely worthless, because there are not too many catchers, if any catchers that are still playing with the kind of power he has, although there are some other ones with very good power.

        Reply
      • Gasu1

        5 years ago

        You nailed it. It makes sense that it would be difficult to focus on both framing and WP/PB elimination at the same time. Sanchez seems to be able to do one or the other tolerably, but not both. Sanchez’s relative defensive value would be greatly aided by robot umps, eliminating the possibility of framing altogether.

        Reply
    • Warisalie

      5 years ago

      But Sanchez has a huge bat. When he actually plays more than 100 games (no more than 122 ever) he hits over 30 hr. You will not replace that production elsewhere behind the plate. But I agree he costs them big back there. He is god awful.

      1
      Reply
    • Warisalie

      5 years ago

      Several guys need to put the burgers down in the league. I totally agree. I’m real nervous about vlad jr, he’s still so young. That guy will eat himself off third base in no time if he isn’t careful. Not that he won’t still hit Well or play first. But why eat everything that moves ya know? Seems super self serving that these guys can’t go on a diet and train. You have access to all the technology and money in the world and your still eating hot dogs and beans every night. But hey to each their own I guess smh

      1
      Reply
    • Benjamin560

      5 years ago

      Wells is not a catcher at the Major League level. Most likely destined for 1B or OF.

      Reply
  4. Bnxbombers

    5 years ago

    The bigger problem with Sanchez is is plate discipline. He swings for the moon no matter the situation. Guy in front of him hits a home run and he wants to hit one further and pops out or whiffs. Always lazy running it out and will never come up big in a big situation. Not to mention his “conditioning” and constant injury issues.

    2
    Reply
    • Eatdust666

      5 years ago

      That is very true, but then again, so many players are swinging for the fences, even if they’re not big power threats.

      Reply
  5. driftcat28 2

    5 years ago

    Good draft pick, think he moves to 1B down the line. Good bat for Yankee stadium. Hope he moves up the ladder

    Reply
  6. Melchez

    5 years ago

    Of the Yankees top 30 prospects… 7 are from the draft. The rest have been international free agents

    Reply
    • robluca21

      5 years ago

      Toyota Is a Japanese company yet has plants in Canada as well as Japan

      Reply
  7. whyhayzee

    5 years ago

    They’ve been long after him. Drafted him twice, both in 2018 and 2020. Seems like forever. Scouts were probably at the hospital when he was born and at his first little league game. And everywhere else the lamb was sure to go, yeah.

    Reply
  8. Murphy NFLD

    5 years ago

    I’m not a Yankees fan but I feel like if the never had Stanton Gary would be in RF with judge DHing

    Reply
    • Old User Name

      5 years ago

      You are obviously not a Yankees fan. Judge is one of the best defensive right fielders in the game.

      Reply
      • mlbnyyfan

        5 years ago

        Judge and Betts are the top two RF in the game. Judge’s problem never been his defense. His problem is staying healthy and cutting down on his strikeouts

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Giants Acquire Rafael Devers

    Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday

    Roki Sasaki No Longer Throwing; No Timetable For Return

    Nationals To Promote Brady House

    White Sox, Brewers Swap Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn

    Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Brewers’ Aaron Civale Requests Trade

    Angels To Promote Christian Moore

    Brewers Promote Jacob Misiorowski

    Red Sox Acquire Jorge Alcala

    Jackson Jobe To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Shane McClanahan Pauses Rehab, Seeking Further Opinions On Nerve Issue

    Royals Place Cole Ragans On IL With Rotator Cuff Strain

    Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony

    Craig Kimbrel Elects Free Agency

    Marlins Place Ryan Weathers On 60-Day IL With Lat Strain

    White Sox To Promote Grant Taylor

    Mariners Designate Leody Taveras For Assignment, Outright Casey Lawrence

    Angels Acquire LaMonte Wade Jr.

    Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Recent

    Mets Place Tylor Megill On IL With Elbow Sprain

    D-backs To Sign Anthony Gose

    Blue Jays Designate Erik Swanson For Assignment, Place Bowden Francis On IL

    Mariners Claim Jacob Hurtubise

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Astros Notes: Melton, Rotation, McCullers

    A’s Sign Scott McGough To Minor League Deal

    The Opener: Devers, Stott, MLBTR Chat

    Devers Trade Fallout: Breslow, Deadline Plans, Clubhouse

    Giants Outright Osleivis Basabe

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Nolan Arenado Rumors
    • Dylan Cease Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Marcus Stroman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
    • 2025 Arbitration Projections
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version