Once Alex Verdugo cooled off from his hot start, the Yankees were starved for anyone to provide production behind Aaron Judge.
After a carousel of different batters, it seems manager Aaron Boone has found his answer in rookie catcher Austin Wells.
Since being inserted as the cleanup hitter, Wells is 19-for-53 (.358) with two home runs, nine RBI and seven walks. In Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader with the Angels, Wells went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, helping the Yankees to a 5-2 win.
“I think this is what he is and it just took him a minute to get it,” Boone said after the Game 1 win. “ And now he’s getting regular, everyday at-bats. The experience he’s gained up here. He’s got a little bit settled.
“Being a catcher in the major leagues is not an easy thing to do. And when you’re a rookie catcher and coming into a veteran-laden staff, you have to handle that side of the ball first, and he’s been so committed to that side of the ball and maybe it took a minute for the offense to catch up a little bit, but it certainly has.”
That “minute” lasted about two and a half months. As the team’s backup catcher behind Jose Trevino, Wells was hitting just .214 entering July. All the metrics at the time showed Wells was one of the unluckiest hitters in the game, with an xBA much higher than his actual average, but the 25-year-old backstop knew things would change eventually.
“[That’s] Just baseball,” Wells said of the turnaround. “Having a good approach, good plan at the beginning of the season but not getting results was where I was at. And now getting results here in the last month and a half has helped me produce and move the lineup. That’s given me a lot of confidence to go out there and perform.”
Wells said he thought about tinkering with his mechanics as the season went on without the results he was looking for, but he trusted his approach and gameplan enough not to.
It also helped that he was getting everyday at-bats. Although it came at the expense of Trevino -- who was placed on the IL on July 13 -- Wells said knowing he’ll be in the lineup every day allowed him to not worry too much about the results.
What’s also helped Wells is simply hitting behind Judge. When asked if he takes it personally that teams intentionally walk the former MVP to pitch to him, Wells said he doesn’t.
"If I was them, I'd be walking Judge too,” he said. “I'm not taking it personal, but I look forward to the challenge. Having a guy on base, and getting a hit with Judgey on base, I’ll take it every time. Obviously, you want to see him hit and do damage…As the opposing team, it makes sense to put him on first and attack the rest of the guys. For us, It’s our job to get on and try to keep moving the lineup.”
The Yankees are 9-6 entering Game 2 of Wednesday’s doubleheader since July 20, the first game Wells batted cleanup, and the lineup is humming along.
In those 15 games, the responsibility of hitting cleanup and protecting Judge has not become too much for the rookie. In fact, Wells relishes the opportunity to hit in those situations, and it’s thanks to the two All-Stars hitting in front of him.
“It’s actually helped me,” Wells explained. “Getting to watch [Juan] Soto and Judge before me allows me to see a lot of pitches up close and gives me a lot of confidence to have a quality at-bat and try to put a good swing on a good pitch. For me, I welcomed it and enjoyed it.”