Austin Wells, the No. 7 ranked New York Yankees prospect, has his eyes on a big season in 2024. After making his debut in the 2023 season, the University of Arizona product wants to continue being someone who plays every game.
It won't be an easy task for the 24-year-old with Jose Trevino expected to be the starter, but if Wells can produce offensively, he might win that starting job in Spring Training.
A starting job and a World Series are the two goals that Wells enters the season with. While he'd love to be the starter, he also realizes that the Yankees are in it to win a World Series. If it means he has to play a different role than he hopes for, then so be it.
Wells had the following to say, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
"If you are trying to be a backup, you are in the wrong sport. Baseball is definitely one of the more competitive sports when it comes to trying to have a job. Going in trying to be the starter, believing you should be the starter and working to be a starter is really the only mindset and choice that you can have if you are a baseball player."
In 70 at-bats at the big league level, Wells certainly had his struggles when slashing .229/.257/.486. However, of his 16 hits, 10 of them went for extra bases, including four home runs.
That's going to be the difference when it comes to him and Trevino. If he can hit the way that he has for parts of his MiLB career, this makes for an interesting Spring Training competition.
When he was called up, New York was in an interesting position. The season was essentially over and tension was high, as the organization had their most disappointing season in recent memory. Perhaps under better circumstances, Wells can perform the way that many are expecting him to.
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