Sophomore catcher Austin Wells on Wednesday became the first Arizona Wildcat to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft since Kevin Newman in 2015.
The powerful left-handed batter came off the board with the 28th pick. The team that selected him, the New York Yankees, took Wells in the 35th round in 2018. But he wasn’t ready to go pro then because of an arm injury that prevented him from playing catcher as a senior at Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School. Teams sometimes use late-round picks on college-bound players to develop relationships with those players.
Wells made an instant impact at Arizona in 2019. He homered in his first career at-bat, launching a season that ended with him becoming the first Wildcat to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Wells slashed .353/.462/.552, had 27 extra-base hits and set UA freshman records in on-base percentage and runs (73). The latter figure paced the Pac-12.
Wells also excelled in the Cape Cod League last summer, batting .308 with 13 doubles and seven home runs in 156 at-bats.
Wells was off to a hot start in 2020, batting .375 in 56 at-bats. He finished his UA career with a slash line of .357/.476/.560 and more walks (63) than strikeouts (57).
Wells worked extensively in the offseason to improve his defense behind the plate – the biggest knock against him among scouts and analysts. He allowed only one passed ball in 100 innings after yielding 10 in 262 innings in 2019.
Wells was eligible for the draft because he turns 21 within 45 days of the event. His birthday is July 12.
Two Wildcats were selected in the second round last year: infielders Cameron Cannon and Nick Quintana.
