Rookie Wells making strides

Austin Wells arrived in the majors with more questions about his glove than his bat, but it was his offense that lacked over the first few games of his career.

The catcher, who has drawn rave reviews behind the plate, went just 3-for-29 (.103) in his first eight games for the Yankees. More recently, however, Wells has been showing off the swing that earned him a bat-first reputation as a prospect.

Priortotuesday’sseriesopenerin Toronto, Wells went 7-for-25 (.280) in his last seven games. His last four contests saw him pick up the first two multi-hit games and the first twohomerunsofhiscareer,including a game-tying blast in a win over the Diamondbacks on Monday.

“Wells, I feel like, has gotten better and better as we’ve gone,” Aaron Boone said Monday. “And today you see why you get excited about him as a hitter.”

Wells continued to show why the Yankees are high on him Tuesday, as he homered again. His two-run, opposite-field shot off Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano broke a scoreless tie in the ninth inning and gave the Bombers a 2-0 win.

On Monday, Wells said that even though the Yankees have been eliminated from playoff contention, “every at-bat matters” for him and the team’s other young players.

“I’ve been pitched differently than I really have been in the minors,” Wells said. “So it’s a little bit of an adjustment, and obviously I’m seeing arms I’ve never seen before. So the more at-bats I’ve gotten, I’ve felt way more comfortable.”

Wells went on to explain that major league pitchers have been throwing him a lot of off-speed stuff early in counts. They’ve also been avoiding the heart of the plate.

The 24-year-old Wells is working on his plate discipline as a result.

“I’m just used to getting a pitch per at-bat to maybe drive, so when I swing at a ball close to the end [of the count] and then they throw one off, they don’t have to throw me anything really over the plate,” he said. “So I think being a little bit more patient will benefit me.”

No Judge surgery: On Tuesday, Boone said that Aaron Judge is not expected to require offseason surgery on his right big toe, according to Mlb.com’s Bryan Hoch.