The New York Yankees selected Austin Wells with the 28th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
The 20-year-old left-handed hitting catcher most recently played at the University of Arizona.
Wells will be paid a signing bonus of $2,493,900 for where he was picked.
Wells can mash, as he put up a slash line of .357/.476/.560 in his freshman and shortened-sophomore year at Arizona. He mainly pulls the ball, but can also hit to all fields.
He can’t really defend and his bat got him to where he is on the board, but he could’ve very well fallen to the second round due to being a below-average defender.
He’s 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, so there’s a high chance he changes positions. But given his age and the fact that the Yankees are short on catchers in the farm system, they might give him a chance to develop more and stay back there.
Wells was previously drafted in the 35th round of the 2018 Draft by the Yankees, so they have experience scouting him and clearly still favored him over other players.
Wells could be seen one-day hitting homers over the short porch at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees forfeited their second and fifth-round picks in this year’s draft due to the Gerrit Cole signing, which no one is complaining about.
Unless any trades are made, their next pick will be in the third round, 99th overall, Thursday night.
