Austin Wells DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he told catcher Austin Wells that he will not play in Grapefruit League games until around March 1 due to his heavy workload last year. Wells has been taking live at-bats but hasn't been swinging so far in spring training at Yankees camp. The 25-year-old left-handed-hitting backstop played in 115 games for New York in 2024 in his first full big-league season and slashed .229/.322/.395 with a .718 OPS, 13 home runs, 55 RBI and 42 runs scored in 414 trips to the plate. He played in 129 total games when you account for playoff contests, so the Yankees want to try and keep him fresh as he enters the 2025 campaign as their primary catcher. Not only does Wells provide excellent defense behind the plate, but he broke out offensively last year as well thanks to improved plate discipline. Consider him a low-end No. 1 catcher/high-end No. 2 in fantasy in 2025.

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells will retreat to the bench for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians with left-hander Matthew Boyd on the bump. Jose Trevino will do the catching instead and will be in the nine-hole in the batting order. Wells has hits in his first two career playoff games in the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals, but since then he's gone hitless in 17 plate appearances with eight strikeouts. He also hit under .200 with none of his 13 home runs and 21 strikeouts in 66 trips to the plate against lefties in 2024. This will be Trevino's first postseason appearance this year. In 23 plate appearances in the playoffs in 2022, he went just 1-for-22 with an RBI and six strikeouts. Trevino has gone 1-for-2 with an RBI and three walks in his career against Boyd.

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells will start at catcher and bat in the cleanup spot in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday evening. Wells opened the campaign, typically batting in the back half of the lineup, but began to move up to the four-spot deeper into the campaign. In the first half of the summer, Wells held a mere .216/.309/.377 line but posted a much-improved .241/.33/.412 line after the All-Star Break. However, since the start of September, the 25-year-old has been in a bit of a slump, holding a .111 AVG. DFS players should consider leaving Wells out of their lineup as he will face Kansas City right-hander Michael Wacha, who has posted a 2.60 ERA and 1.12 WHIP through September.