"I'll just hit home runs at Yankee Stadium and play wherever they need me to."
Those were the words of Yankees first-round draft pick Austin Wells, speaking to the New York media for the first time in a conference call on Thursday afternoon. Wells, a catcher by trade, was addressing concerns scouts have had about his defense and the prospect of remaining behind the plate long-term.
That's something he would like, but much like other offensive-minded catchers (like, say, fellow Las Vegas native Bryce Harper) before him, Wells is ready to do whatever it takes to make The Bronx his permanent residence sooner than later.
"I'm a catcher, and I want to be a catcher, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get to the big leagues," Wells said. "So, if that's at another position, I'll just hit home runs at Yankee Stadium and play wherever they need me to, wherever my bat gets me to the big leagues the quickest."
Wells' bat made itself well-known at Arizona, to the tune of him slashing .357/.476/.560 with seven homers, 74 RBI, and 85 runs scored in 71 games as a Wildcat. The bat plays anywhere, but that tool is only helping him focus on what he needs to do on the other side of the box.
"I definitely am continuing to improve every day; even throughout these tough times, that's been one of my main focuses," Wells said. "It will continue to be, especially if I want to make an impact on the big league club quickly. This has already been the longest period where I haven't played baseball in my life, so I've just been working hard to stay in shape, and working on my hitting and defense. It's helped me stay sane during these tough times."
He's had to do whatever it takes, as his sophomore season at Arizona was cut short, just 15 games (and 10 wins) into a campaign the Wildcats felt strongly about.
"That was tough for me, and for everyone, to not be able to go out and play," Wells said. "We started the season so strongly, and it impacted us very heavily. I'm disappointed I don't get to go back and play with these guys again, but I'm very excited to be a Yankee."
Wells hopes to indeed officially sign the dotted line and become a Yankee as quickly as possible, but when he does, he will also have to make one other adjustment: he's sported quite the beard during his two years as an Arizona Wildcat, one that must come off before he can step onto the field in pinstripes.
Once again, no sweat for the new guy.
"That's definitely going to be an adjustment," Wells laughed, "but we had to shave in high school (at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas) too, so it won't be that big of an adjustment.
