Back when we were breaking down prospects the Yankees could target in the 2020 MLB Draft, Austin Wells had this sentence under his section for catchers New York might like: "But if they like the versatility, remember Wells' name on Draft Day."

Well, the Yankees took Wells No. 28 overall on Wednesday night, for the second time -- he was selected by the Bombers out of high school in the 35th round of the 2018 draft.

If it weren't for Wells' decision to forgo the Yankees' drafting him and enter the University of Arizona, this would've never happened in the first place.

"Coming here was the best decision I ever made," Wells told Tucson.com in February. "So I'm super thankful."

That versatility that Wells, a catcher, developed in the field -- he can play first base and the outfield, if needed -- played a big role in his draft stock. All he needed was two years in the Wildcats' system to work on his game, and the results spoke for themselves.

His bat is Wells' calling card and that was evident after becoming the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year with a .353/.462/.552 triple slash with five homers, 15 doubles, seven triples (you don't see that from a catcher) and 60 RBI from the left side of the plate. He was set to follow that up in his sophomore season, but the coronavirus pandemic ended that prematurely. He had a .375/.527/.589 line with two homers and 14 RBI over 15 games.

His success at the plate could be the reason why the Las Vegas native was drafted despite some scouts not believing he can stick behind the plate in the pros. First base is a pretty wide open position at the moment and there isn't a first baseman in the Yankees' Top 30 prospect list by MLB Pipeline.

"He really projects to play first base," ESPN college baseball analyst Chris Burke said during the draft, via NJ.com. "Maybe you can even take him to the outfield."

No matter where Wells ends up in his pro career, his father is confident his son will make the best of it. Wells needed a little time to develop more in college and that's exactly what he did. And instead of jumping the gun in the 35th round two years ago, he is seeing a projected signing bonus value of $2.49 million after being selected in the first round.

"God has an interesting path sometimes," Greg Wells said. "If you look at where Austin is at today versus where he would have been signing out of high school, he's a better person, a better man, more educated."

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