Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Catching Coach Calls Prospect Austin Wells 'The Gold Standard'

New York Yankees catching prospect Austin Wells was called the gold standard by a catching coach. The former first round pick is the Yankees No. 6 prospect

Max Goodman

TAMPA — A prospect can't receive a compliment much higher than this.

Former first-round pick Austin Wells, who has turned heads at Yankees camp this spring, was called "the gold standard" by New York's catching coach Tanner Swanson on Sunday.

"As soon as we acquired Austin, Aaron [Boone] did an outstanding job putting together content, a curriculum that could be delivered remotely and Austin really dove into that head first," Swanson said in a Zoom call before New York's 4-0 win over the Phillies. "I think he's seen tremendous strides since we acquired him and is a more than adequate defender. I think the ceiling remains really high and we've all been able to see what he can do offensively already here in the short stint."

Out of the University of Arizona, Wells was selected by the Yankees with the No. 28 overall pick in last year's draft. After the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Wells from playing his first professional season in 2020, the 21-year-old is focusing on taking his career one day at a time going forward. 

"The best approach I've learned is taking it day by day and just really taking that step to where you're not looking too far in the future and not thinking too much into the past about what's happened or what should have been," Wells said earlier this spring. "Just taking the opportunities that come to me and just really taking advantage of those for sure."

Wells bounced a base hit up the middle in his first official at-bat of spring training one week ago against the Tigers. His manager Aaron Boone has already taken the time to praise Wells' abilities offensively.

"He can hit," Boone said. "We really like his swing and I think one of the things that stands out to me that I didn't necessarily know is how strong he is. He's as strong as anyone in camp."

Wells is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees' No. 6 prospect with an estimated arrival to the big-league club in 2023.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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