Electric Yankees win over Royals comes with upsetting Austin Wells realization

On Monday night, the New York Yankees rebounded from some sloppy play and defeated the playoff-hopeful Kansas City Royals by a score of 10-4. Despite the Bombers' two errors, they logged 12 hits and seven walks. Even better? Aaron Judge and Juan Soto combined for just one RBI.

The rest of the offense as well as the pitching staff stepped up. Rookie catcher Austin Wells led the charge with a 2-for-5 night that featured the go-ahead three-run homer and a late RBI double. Alex Verdugo hit his second home run since July 7. Oswaldo Cabrera scored two runs. Gleyber Torres got three hits. Jasson Dominguez logged his first hit and run scored in the big leagues in 2024. Carlos Rodón twirled a quality start despite some awful defense behind him, while Jake Cousins and Luke Weaver got some big outs before Ian Hamilton saw his first action since coming off the IL.

The Yankees improved their division lead to 1.5 games over the Baltimore Orioles, who were trounced by the Boston Red Sox. Bittersweet, but we'll take it after all the loafing the Yankees have done since July.

Though we hate to dampen the mood surrounding the team's first convincing win in what's felt like weeks, there's an upsetting reality fans must deal with after watching Wells' spectacular showing. And that's the fact manager Aaron Boone likely deprived the young slugger of the AL Rookie of the Year award.

AL Rookie of the Year Race: Yankees' Austin Wells trails division rival

Look, there's still a chance. There are about three weeks left in the season and Wells has been swinging a hot bat, so anything is possible. But Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser maintains the advantage with counting stats, simply because he's been given more playing time.

On the flip side, Boone prioritized playing Jose Trevino up until about a week ago, which ate into Wells' contributions. Even before Trevino hit the IL for a month, it was evident Wells should've been getting more reps because of his superior defense and threatening lefty bat.

Boone stuck with the veteran, though, even after Wells proved himself during Trevino's absence. Wells, over that span, emerged as the best hitting catcher in baseball, but that wasn't enough for Boone, who benched Wells the moment Trevino was activated. Boone was also doing his best to keep Wells away from left-handed pitching, which is something that will only hurt his development. The Yankees don't understand that they can't shield their best hitters from matchups the organization doesn't prefer. It doesn't work like that.

Trevino started six of the 11 games from Aug. 16 - Aug. 27, but since then the Yankees came to their senses. Wells has been the primary starter since Aug. 28, with Trevino getting only two starts since then. The result? Wells has three homers, 11 RBI and an .874 OPS over his last 10 games. That's not production the Yankees can ever expect from Trevino, who is an excellent catcher and has a penchant for coming through in big moments but is best suited for a backup role.

Nonetheless, had Wells been given more leash earlier in the year to make an impression as his batted ball luck continued to betray him, he'd probably be the frontrunner for the AL ROY. Cowser is currently the favorite at -250 with Wells trailing at +170, and it's clear Cowser had the luxury of playing through his struggles without somebody blocking him.

• Colton Cowser 2024 stats — .241/.325/.434, 120 OPS+, 21 doubles, 20 HR, 62 RBI, 2.3 WAR in 137 games
• Austin Wells 2024 stats — .252/.342/.438, 118 OPS+, 16 doubles, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 2.7 WAR in 100 games

And don't forget, there's a healthy amount of part-time duty in there. Wells started just 84 of those 100 games.

A late run could tip the scales, especially when you look at the WAR numbers, but we're just hoping the Yankees learn from their eternal mistake of not striking while the iron is hot. Yankees fans are thankful for Wells' presence, energy and emergence, but they can't help but want more after seeing him unlock his potential right before their very eyes while the team seemingly did its best to ignore it.