The Yankees only have three total picks in the five-round 2020 MLB Draft, as they gave up their second and fifth-round choices when they signed Gerrit Cole to his massive nine-year contract.

So they need to make these picks count.

The Bombers used their first-round pick on Austin Wells, a left-handed, power-hitting catcher from the University of Arizona -- a player they previously selected in the 35th round of the 2018 draft before he elected to play college ball.

"We are very happy to get Austin Wells today," said Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees' vice president of domestic amateur scouting. "We thought he was one of the top hit and power combinations in the draft. We love his desire and makeup, along with his athleticism. We have known him for years and seen him progress quite a bit behind the plate to allow us to believe he can be an impact guy."

Here's what some scouts had to say about the Wells selection …

I think it's a good pick late in the first round. You mentioned the bat, and that's exactly what the Yankees are buying there and you figure out the position once he gets into the pro game. It's the hit and the power tools that really stand out.

I think for Wells, he's always been able to hit. He hit when he was at Bishop Gorman in Nevada in high school, wanted to go on to Arizona. Here he is again. He's put up very good numbers, controls the strike zone well so he's going to get to that power.

Maybe another guy that you send out as a catcher and see what happens. Unlike Kyle Schwarber, he's been seen playing other positions. He's played the outfield, he's played some first base, so there's some comfort level knowing that if you have to move him, he's going to be just fine in any of those spots. That left-handed power, though, should get him to the big leagues pretty quickly. - Jonathan Mayo, MLB Pipeline

I do think it's bat first. He's a really impressive hitter. He's hit for power in college. I do think that he might have a chance to stick behind catcher. That's definitely not the consensus opinion. I've talked to some people that are a little bit higher on his receiving, but he does need to work there.

If he can catch, and you have that bat there, it's extremely valuable, but I do think that if he doesn't stick behind the plate he's going to profile well just because the bat's that special. - Carlos Collazo, Baseball America

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