Official Patriots Press Release:
Bridgewater, NJ – The New York Yankees have announced that catcher Austin Wells has been promoted to the Double-A Somerset Patriots. Wells is currently ranked as New York’s No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
The Yankees' 2020 first round pick, Wells has played 37 games this season with the @HVRenegades and @TampaTarpons, hitting .304 with a .993 OPS and 8 home runs. pic.twitter.com/ouDAqtyvoy
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 5, 2022
Wells began the 2022 season with High-A Hudson Valley and posted a .323 batting average, .429 on-base percentage and a .576 slugging percentage with six homers, 16 RBI, 19 walks and 21 runs scored.
After the 22-year-old spent time on the injured list, Wells began his way back to behind the plate in Low-A Tampa where he played nine games and belted two home runs and drove in six RBI.
As the club’s first round pick in the 2020 draft, Wells has dominated in his time in both Tampa and Hudson Valley. He began 2021 assigned to the Tarpons before seeing a mid-season promotion to the Renegades and ending the year with a combined .264 batting average, 16 home runs, 76 RBI, 71 walks and 82 runs scored. At the conclusion of the season, Wells was named an MiLB Organizational All-Star for the Yankees.
Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Wells attended the University of Arizona and prospered into one of the top catchers in the country after he slashed .357/.476/.560 with 74 RBI in his first two seasons.
The move comes after the recent promotion of catcher Josh Breaux from Somerset to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Wells joins INF Anthony Volpe (No. 1) as a top five ranked prospect in Somerset.