The Major League baseball season is just around the corner, but the fantasy baseball season is in full swing as drafts and auctions are happening every day and twice on Sunday.
With the fantasy season now here, so too is the constant search for the hidden gems, those players who will actually be the difference between winning and losing. With that in mind, I present New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells as this week’s Up-and-Coming Dynasty Player.
Wells started the 2024 season splitting time behind the plate but took over the role as the primary catcher midway through the season. When you look at his stats, you may wonder why I like him. So let’s find out why.
Career Statistics
| SEASON | AB | H | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 70 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 0 | .229 | .257 | .486 |
| 2024 | 354 | 81 | 42 | 13 | 55 | 1 | .229 | .322 | .395 |
| 162-Game Avg. | 513 | 117 | 60 | 21 | 82 | 1 | .229 | .312 | .410 |
A Little Background
Austin Wells is a player who the Yankees have liked since his high school days at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. New York first drafted Wells in the 35th round of the 2018 draft. Wells decided to head to Arizona to play college ball and in 71 career games, he slashed .357/.476/.560 with seven homers and 74 RBI. Most of that damage came in 2019 during his freshman year. In 56 games, he slashed .353/.462/.552 with five homers and 60 RBI to win the Pac 12 Freshman of the Year Award.
He was off to a great start in 2020 as he was slashing .375/.527/.589 through the first 15 games, but the season then came to an end due to COVID. Wells was draft eligible in 202o and the Yankees selected him again, this time as the 28th overall selection. It didn’t take long for Wells to work his way through the system as he made his debut in 2023 and became the starter last year.
Well’s Game
- Hit Tool
So far, Wells has not had the same type of success at the plate when it comes to his batting average that he experienced in the minors. In only three seasons down on the farm, he had a .260/.370/.476 slash line. Not great when compared to some of the top prospects, but solid numbers for a catcher. With the Yankees, his career slash line currently sits at .229/.312/.410.
If you look at his StatCast numbers, they aren’t going to make you feel like Wells is a must-have catcher. His xBA ranked in the 36th percentile last year and his average EV ranked in the 34th percentile.
But those numbers reflect the first three months of the season for Wells, a period in which he appeared in 50 games and had 140 at-bats, slashing .214/.307/.343. However, from July through August, Wells was one of the best hitters in the New York lineup. In 44 games and 142 at-bats, he slashed .303/.389/.549.
Austin Wells has a good idea of the strike zone. His 11.4 walk rate ranked in the 89th percentile and his strikeout rate (21.0%) ranked in the 54th percentile. He rarely chases pitches out of the zone as his 25.5% Chase Rate ranked in the 70th percentile. Among qualified hitters on the Yankees last season, Wells ranked 3rd in xOBP, 4th in xwOBA, xSLG and xISO and 5th in Barrel% and Hard Hit%.
Overall, Wells is showing he is not a bad hitter and I expect improvement this year.
- Power
While I think Wells will see an uptick in his slash line going forward, the real reason I love Wells is due to his power potential. He hit 13 dingers last season, and 10 of those came over the final three months. As you can see in the table above, his 162-game average is 21 homers and 82 RBI.
We all know catchers are not going to play in all 162 games, but he will likely play in 12- to 130 games. His ability to drive the ball should lead to 18 or so homers, even possibly 20. Why? Because Wells, who is a left-handed hitter, should be able to take advantage of the short porch in Yankee Stadium.
Wells pulled the ball 32% of the time last year and had a 29.1% fly ball rate (the MLB average is 26.3%). His Air Percentage (Fly Balls + Line Drives + Pop Ups) was 62.5% last year. This is a hitter who lifts the ball, which is perfect for his home park. All but one of his home runs went to right field or right-center field last year. Wells makes solid contact, has above average bat speed, and pulls the ball in a park that favors his hitting style.
- Speed
Austin Wells has only one steal in the majors, but he is not a plodding catcher. During his time in the minors, he stole 39 bases and was only caught once. But the Yankees aren’t known to be a running team, so perhaps Wells won’t get too many chances to steal bases. But he has shown in the past that he is more than capable of swiping a bag or two.
The Verdict
Depending on what platform you use, Wells is either an extremely underrated player or one everyone already knows about. In ESPN leagues, only 26.5% of players have Wells on their roster. That percentage increases to 60% on Yahoo and moves up to a whopping 96% in Fantrax, with him on 91% of active rosters.
In two catcher leagues, Austin Wells is a must add for obvious reasons as he is the catcher for the Yankees and thus will be in the lineup a lot. But even in 12-team leagues, I can make the case that he should be on your team. His home run total ranked tied for 15th among catchers last season, and with more games played this year, that ranking is more than likely to go up. He also ranked 12th in RBI, 15th in SLG, and 16th in Hard Hit%.
The talent is there to improve in all of those areas, and at only 25 years old, Wells can become an anchor at catcher for years.
Thanks for reading and come back again next week.
I can keep 10 ($5 raise each year), NL $260 5×5 BA—– Keeping
Chourio15, Elly15, tatis16, Merril15l, Skeens20. Srtrider11, r.Ray6,
& MiLB stay at salary till year after they get activated(De Vries2 Weatherholt5).
THATS 10—-what do you think so far? ========== Still Love my
Joey’s Ortiz8 Bart7.
?which 2 do i try to trade ? Really do love my minors but this is the year to win
I count nine. 1. Chourio. 2. De La Cruz 3. Tatis 4. Merrill 5. Skenes 6. Strider 7. Ray 8. De Vries 9. Weatherholt.
You’re set at SS. So I’d actually try to flip De Vries. He’d bring in a large haul. If you don’t need to restock, someone always needs catching. Bart has value because of that.
12 team Yahoo dynasty, 5 forever keepers, no cost. Need help!
Juan Soto
Corbin Carroll
Ozzie Albies
CJ Abrams
Wyatt Langford
Junior Caminero
Jasson Domínguez
Roman Anthony
Kristian Campbell
Garrett Crochet
I’m leaning towards:
Soto
Carroll
Langford
Caminero
Anthony?
Concerned with Albies injuries, Abrams maturity, Crochet overrated?
Am I way overthinking and focusing too much on future potential VS current stats?
I’m with you on Crochet as being a forever keeper. I don’t trust pitchers under that format.
All aboard keeping Carroll, Caminero and Anthony. Soto is great now, but he’s a future DH. You willing to deal with that? If not, I’ve been on the Abrams hype train all offseason and seriously consider Abrams over Soto.
You’d be set at 3B, SS, and your OF. If you want to avoid three outfielders, I’d keep Campbell in exchange for Anthony or Langford.
Or, if you’re not on board with Abrams, Campbell over Soto if your vision is longterm and not instant gratification.
Just some thoughts. You have a good problem.
Thanks for reading.
Jakkers! Thanks so much for the response. I copied/pasted my question from notepad and forgot my intro:
Thank you so much for all the awesome work and time on these fantastic articles!
I do love Abrams, but little bit worried about the silly demotion and maturity, but also high on all his relevant stats. I’ve watched your vid with Grey and know you’re high on him. With the depth as SS and likely knowing other 6-7 other teams are keeping their SS, does keeping Anthony make more sense and hoping Abrams is there in 6th round start of draft? It’s a gamble (not Rudy) :)
That is an interesting gamble, but one that might make sense. If only one or two teams will likely not keep a shortstop are drafting ahead of you, I think keeping Anthony and having one great outfield for years to come (assuming Anthony lives up to expectations) would be a good move.
I have a bias against prospects vs. known young players. I have seen enough of Abrams to think he will be a stud at shortstop. I think he learned his lesson last year. I THINK Anthony will be a stud (I have him on a couple of my teams’ prospect rosters), but he hasn’t proven it on the MLB level. Same with Campbell, etc.
So I would still lean toward Abrams, especially without fully knowing who has who in your league. But your idea is a good one and I am not going to say you shouldn’t do it.
I am neither in or out on him as I think he is solid and my only ownership was him as a replacement for my injuried catchers at ASB. I am sure he will continue to improve but I think you missed how awful he was in Sept. He batted .111 on 8 hits in 72 ABs.
Yes, he was horrible. But I think he ran out of gas. His K% was at 24% for the month, so not like he was swinging and missing at everything.
He still had eight walks (9.6%), so not a drastic drop, and he drove in 13, his third highest monthly total.
He may not hit .300, but I see .270 easily from him, hit homers and drive in runs.
If you were throwing a dart at a SP, who are your top 3?
Will Warren
Festa
Zebby
Sproat
Sugano
Tyler Megill
Mize
Fitts
Shane Smith
McGreevy
Or just roll with the safe Wacha
My current SP:
Cease
Flaherty
Freddy P
Pfaadt
Robbie Ray
Tobias Myers
IL:
Kirby
Kutter
Bello
I do have Bubba Chandler also
If you’re building for the future, Chandler, Matthews and McGreevy are who I like best. If you want to keep a safety pitcher, take Wacha over McGreevy. I actually have Wacha on several teams. He’s like a safety blanket.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.
Thank you sir
I snagged Warren when the Cole news came out. So you would drop him for Zebby and just hold him since he seems to be starting the season in the minors? I already have Chandler. I can drop RP Fernando Cruz for Wacha. It is a keeper league. We keep 13 so mini dynasty.
I do like Zebby more and would do what you said. But if you prefer Warren, I can see just keeping him.
Cruz gets those strikeouts, but he likely won’t be in high leverage situations. If go use strikeouts and not K/9, I’d go with Wacha.
Thank you
10 team weekly H2H 6×5 (standard + OPS). Keep 3 for 1 year. Have 1st pick. Ohtani available, but only as Util.
Any consideration of drafting any of these over Shohei? Again, all players involved (Shohei included) can be kept thru 2026:
Judge, Soto, Vlad, Gunnar, Jo-Ram, Tucker
I love Gunnar. He can do everything except pitch. If you don’t want to take up your UTL spot, I’d grab Gunnar.
Wells been leading off In spring training.
And looking good so far. If they stick with this, I like it for him. Maybe Ben allow him to run a bit more.
That’s great stuff! Rostering Wells and O’Hoppe in my 12 team dynasty 5×5… question About Mike McGreevy…would you drop David Frdta for him? Thsnk you!
Nice catching duo right there.
I’m assuming you mean Festa…I would add McGreevy over Festa.
Thanks for reading!