Legendary Royals Player Heaps Praise Onto New York Yankees Rising Star Catcher

It's hard for top prospects to reach the ceiling that's projected for them when they're first starting their professional journeys, but New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells was able to accomplish that during his first season in The Show.

Oct 29, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) hits a home run during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The 2020 first-round pick finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting last season, behind his teammate Luis Gil who won the award and Colton Cowser of the rival Baltimore Orioles.

Wells was seen as the Yankees' catcher of the future when he was selected 28th overall, and immediately debuting in the top 10 of their prospect rankings before he was considered top five ahead of his Major League call-up certainly didn't quell that notion.

And despite having some struggles that all young players go through when getting their first taste of the bigs, he showed New York's brass enough to take over the starting role, which allowed the front office to trade Jose Trevino at the beginning of this offseason.

Now, entering Spring Training ahead of this upcoming campaign, the expectations are even higher.

Wells slashed .229/.322/.395 with 13 homers, 55 RBI and an OPS+ of 103 his rookie year, numbers that he and everyone in the organization are hoping improves with more exposure to Major League pitching.

It was his defense that really turned heads, though.

Touted as an offensive catcher who had some defensive concerns surrounding his arm strength, Wells was able to do other things behind the plate that raises the possibility of what his ceiling could be.

Per Baseball Savant, he was in the 96th percentile when it came to framing and the 75th percentile in blocks above average. That allowed his fielding run value to sit third amongst catchers with a value of 13, behind only Patrick Bailey who led with 22 and Alejandro Kirk and Cal Raleigh who were tied with 14.

His defense was enough to catch the eye of Kansas City Royals legend Salvador Perez.

"I think he's going to be a good catcher in the future. The way he frames it, too, that's pretty good. And he's [hitting] fourth in that lineup. It makes me think he's going to be good," he said per MLB.com.

Perez knows a little something about playing catcher. The 13-year veteran has five Gold Glove and five Silver Slugger Awards to his name.

Wells has a ways to go before he gets into that realm, but he's certainly off to a good start.

While he'll likely never be someone who throws out runners who are stealing at a high rate, having ranked in the 53rd percentile in caught stealing above average and in the 30th percentile of pop time, his ability to frame at an elite level already is something that will help him going forward.

Once he starts to rake at the plate like he showcased in his short minor league career, Wells has the potential to be one of the best all-around catchers in baseball.