For much of the second half of this season, New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells returned incredible offensive production and more than held his own behind the plate, flirting with elite status in the American League at his position. As a result of his excellent play, he was right up there with Colton Cowser of the Baltimore Orioles and his own teammate Luis Gil as top AL Rookie of the Year candidates.
For reference, Wells finished the regular season with a .229/.322/.395 line, 13 home runs, and a .718 OPS in 414 plate appearances. That OPS, however, was as high as .782 on September 1. What happened?
Austin Wells had his highs and lows during the regular season
The reality is that Wells has been cold for a while now and could have thrown away his AL ROY candidacy with his subpar September. In the month, the Yankees catcher hit a horrible .111/.217/.194 with a highly disappointing .411 OPS. This comes after sporting incredibly good OPS marks in July (.941) and August (.936).
The Yankees need Wells to get going at the plate
For the Yankees to get past the Kansas City Royals in the AL Division Series and keep dreaming big, they need Wells to step up and break out of his funk. It’s that simple. They can’t win with one of their projected middle-of-the-order hitters playing and hitting like he did in September.
From a rest standpoint, logic indicates that if someone needed the five-day break between the last game of the regular season and the first of the ALDS, it’s certainly Wells.
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Catching takes a huge toll on the body, not to mention the mental burden of preparing games, being familiar with pitchers’ stuffs and tendencies, and trying to be competitive at the plate on top of all that.
The Yankees certainly hope to have Wells refreshed and restored for what’s going to come. The Royals are just the first obstacle in a path filled with them. Getting past Kansas City and their excellent set of starters (plus MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. and hitters like Salvador Perez) would require everything they have.
