Austin Wells is silently approaching rarefied air in Yankees history

The Yankees have had plenty of stellar catchers in their 125-year history. Yogi Berra. Bill Dickey. Thurman Munson Jorge Posada. We’re quickly approaching a point where Austin Wells could be referenced among them. 

After smashing a home run on Wednesday, Wells was one pace to become one of three Yankees catchers to hit 27 home runs and 101 RBI in a single season, along with Dickey and Berra. 

Austin Wells is silently approaching rarefied air in Yankees history

Wells kicked off 2025 with a bang when he homered on the Yankees’ first at-bat of the year (becoming the first Yankees catcher to hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day) and he’s been heating up again after experiencing struggles on the offensive end.

While Wells has admitted that he isn’t sure what to make of his season, he’s provided a strong spark to a lineup that’s only recently become more balanced after being top-heavy for much of the first few months. He recently rode a strong stretch of batting .311 with three home runs and 14 RBI across 13 games back to prominence.

He’s now slashing .220/.283/.455 on the season with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. His 43 RBI are second among all catchers behind Cal Raleigh, and his 11 home runs is third in MLB among that same group. Wells is on pace to have the best offensive season by a Yankees catcher since Jorge Posada hit 30 home runs and had 101 RBI in 2003. 

He's had eight multi-hit games this year and four others where he's driven in four or more runs. He's also hit in seemingly every spot in the lineup, which a testament to his ability to be ready every day regardless of the situation.

And Wells’ strong season is even more impressive when you consider the lack of success the Yankees have had at the position recently. Yankees catchers had posted a wRC+ of 82 from 2020 to 2023 (the last year before Wells took over), while Wells has posted a wRC+ of 107 across 2024 and 2025. 

He’s also in the 91st percentile in framing, and Yankees pitchers have an ERA of 3.97 with him behind the plate. While he’s still finding his groove as a defensive catcher, his bat makes up for those deficiencies, especially if he continues to hit left-handed pitching. 

While Aaron Judge has garnered a ton of headlines thanks to another MVP-caliber season, Wells has been a silent assassin regardless of where he’s hit in the Yankees lineup. And with Jazz Chisholm Jr. beginning to get hot and a Giancarlo Stanton return imminent, the Yankees’ lineup has a chance to be extremely dangerous. 

And, in the case of Wells, it could be record-setting.