‘The best hitter on the field’ – The Denver Post

HOUSTON — When the coronavirus outbreak shut down the college baseball season, and everything else in 2020, a scary thought crossed Jay Johnson’s mind.

“The world is ending,” Johnson, then the head coach at Arizona, told the Daily News. “COVID happens, they canceled the College World Series, and my first thought was, ‘Austin Wells ain’t gonna be on my team anymore.’”

Indeed, Wells’ sophomore season with the Wildcats lasted just 15 games. The Yankees’ first-round pick in 2020, Wells saw his playing career at Arizona end with the start of the pandemic.

Johnson, now running the show at LSU, lamented the loss of one of his favorite pupils.

“He’s one of the best players that I’ve ever recruited and coached, and [that includes] a lot of guys in the major leagues right now,” Johnson said. “So that tells you what I think of Austin.”

There’s quite a bit of talent on Johnson’s resume. With additional coaching stops at Point Loma Nazarene, San Diego and Nevada, he has assisted 27 major leaguers and 61 MLB draft picks, according to his LSU bio. That list includes Seattle’s Paul Sewald, Colorado’s Kris Bryant, and the first two picks in the 2023 draft, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes and Washington’s Dylan Crews, who helped Johnson win this year’s national championship.

Wells became the latest Johnson disciple to reach the majors when the 24-year-old debuted for the Yankees on Friday in Houston. He picked up a single in his first at-bat.

“It’s a surreal feeling being here and facing a very good team in the Astros,” Wells said before playing in front of his parents, among other family members. “It’s kind of what you want as your first taste of the big leagues, so I’m excited.”

The Yankees, already evaluating its youth toward the end of a disastrous season, promoted the catcher and centerfielder Jasson Domínguez. Wells is ranked eighth in the Yankees’ system, while Domínguez is ranked second, according to MLB.com.

Domínguez, nicknamed The Martian, is the more hyped prospect of the two, as the 20-year-old’s arrival has been anticipated in Yankeeland ever since he signed a $5.1 million contract at the age of 16. But Wells could be the team’s future behind the plate, and his left-handed swing figures to be a fit in Yankee Stadium.

“Incredible hitter,” Johnson said. “Incredibly strong. He was always advanced physically for his age, and in a good way. I mean, he was strong, physical, more athletic. One of those guys that’s the best hitter on the field no matter what field he showed up on.”

That wasn’t the case when Wells took the field at Minute Maid Park on Friday, as he shared the diamond with the likes of Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez, among others. But Johnson hasn’t worried about Wells’ offense since he clubbed a three-run homer in his first collegiate at-bat as a freshman.

Wells “never slowed down” after that, Johnson said, and the Yankees saw that first-hand as the Las Vegas native climbed the minor league ranks. Wells spent most of this season at Double-A and Triple-A after suffering a fractured rib in spring training. He hit .240/.333/.442 with 24 doubles, 17 home runs and 72 RBI over 96 total minor league contests.

Wells only spent 33 games at Triple-A, where he slashed .254/.349/.452 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 20 RBI. His hitting coach at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre said that learning to adapt to pitchers who are always tinkering will be Wells’ biggest challenge in the majors.

“Nobody’s ever ready for the next level,” Trevor Amicone told The News. “The only thing you can be is ready to go up there, compete and adjust when you inevitably fail and go through it.

“When the league adjusts to them, can they adjust to the league? Wells is close. He’s getting to that point. He’s doing the work, that’s for sure.”

Wells has also put in a ton of work behind the plate. There have been questions about his defense and arm strength ever since the Yankees drafted him.

Wells, who underwent surgery on his throwing elbow in high school, caught just 13% of base-stealers in the minors this season. He also recorded 11 errors and five passed balls.

“In the minor leagues. They’re going to run, and they’re running without fear,” Aaron Boone said. “It is an area that is not a strength and is something that he needs to continue to work on. So we’ll see.”

Boone recently said that Wells could get some looks at first base in the future — he played there a bit in college — but that didn’t sound as likely on Friday. Boone has added that the catcher is “not a finished product.” But the manager also said that Wells has “made a lot of really good strides defensively” as a catcher, the only position he has played as a pro.

The Yankees’ catching coordinator, Tanner Swanson, recently praised Wells’ growth as a backstop.

“He definitely had question marks defensively when we got him, but he’s done nothing but perform defensively since he’s been in our system,” Swanson told The News. “So there’s been a lot of really, really positive signs of his growth as a receiver, a blocker. The arm has come a long way since college.”

Now Wells needs to learn a new staff – a major league staff – on the fly. Fortunately, he has some help.

“There’s definitely challenges trying to find comfortability, especially coming here and catching new guys that I haven’t caught before,” Wells said. “The best thing for me is I have great guys here like Ben [Rortvedt] and [Kyle Higashioka] and [Jose] Trevino. They’ve been able to really help me adjust and be comfortable.”

Johnson, meanwhile, saw Wells commit himself to the craft of catching in college despite making a name for himself with his swing.

“His hitting was so advanced as a young player. That’s what drew everyone’s attention. If he was a ready-made catch and throw guy out of high school, he would have gone high in the first round,” Johnson said. “And so I was very impressed with the amount of time and effort that he put into developing himself as a defender and as a catcher. He really improved throughout the end of his freshman season and the shortened 15-game season as a sophomore. He was doing a great job behind the plate for us.

“If he’s improved as much as he did between Year 1 and Year 2 with us over the last three years, then he will be fine.”

Johnson strongly believes that Wells would not be a Yankee if not for the pandemic. He feels the former Wildcat would have played his way up in the draft had the 2020 season not come to an abrupt end.

In that sense, Johnson’s loss became the Yankees’ gain.

Now the coach is eager to see Wells on a major league field. With the school year just beginning, Johnson could not make it to Houston for Wells’ debut weekend, but the two shared celebratory texts on Wednesday night.

Johnson foresees Wells becoming a “staple” in New York for years to come, “and I think that’s going to be a great thing for the Yankees.”

But first, Wells had to log his first big league game. Johnson never doubted he would.

“He’s one of those guys that’s built his life around baseball, if that makes sense,” the proud coach said. “To see this first dream realized for him is awesome. And at the same time, not surprised at all. I always viewed it with Austin, it was only a matter of time.”

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