TAMPA — Manager Aaron Boone has said he can envision “a number” of in-house hitters becoming the Yankees leadoff hitter this year.
On Friday, Austin Wells received his first crack at hitting first and made it count.
Wells, who is a realistic if untraditional option to emerge as the No. 1 hitter, needed just two pitches to assert that he feels comfortable in the spot.
In his first at-bat atop the order, the young catcher golfed a 1-0 fastball from righty Jake Bloss over the right field wall for his first home run of the spring to begin Friday’s 6-3 win over the Blue Jays at Steinbrenner Field.
“I’ve never really led off ever in my life,” Wells said after the 1-for-2 night. “It was fun to do that today.”
Boone has plenty of leadoff options (partially because he does not have any surefire fit after Gleyber Torres walked in free agency) in a lineup that is still taking shape.
Aaron Judge is just about locked in as the No. 2 hitter, and Cody Bellinger is the front-runner to hit third, where he batted Friday and added his own first-inning home run.
Last season Wells was used most often as the cleanup hitter, and he could jump from Judge’s protection (after Judge typically batted third in 2024) to Judge’s table-setter.
The slow-footed Wells is not the throwback vision of a leadoff guy and will not steal many bases, but he fights through at-bats, has a good knowledge of the strike zone and most importantly can get on base.
“You never know here,” Boone said of a leadoff Wells. “It’s something I would consider. I’ve liked Jazz [Chisholm Jr.] there.
“Especially against right-handed pitching, I could absolutely see that being a thing.”
Through 94 games last season, Wells posted a strong .348 on-base percentage that saw him climb out of the bottom of the lineup and into the middle of the lineup.
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The then-rookie tired down the stretch in his first full season as a major league catcher and as he played nearly every day, his OBP just .217 in September.
If a better rested and performing Wells arrives this season, he could grab the everyday leadoff job or serve in the role against opposing righties.
Chisholm, switch-hitting Jasson Domínguez and perhaps Bellinger also could fill that role.
If Boone opts for a platoon atop the lineup, there are worlds in which righties Anthony Volpe or DJ LeMahieu (if he turns back the clock) would get looks hitting first against lefties.
“To me it doesn’t matter where I’m at,” Wells said, “just as long as I’m in the lineup.”
