New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo and catcher Austin Wells are both back in the starting lineup for Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Friday at Progressive Field against Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams. Rizzo and Wells, both lefty hitters, took a seat in the Game 3 loss with a left-hander on the mound. Rizzo fractured two fingers at the end of the regular season and didn't play in the AL Division Series. He's gone 3-for-7 with a double, two walks and a run scored in three games in the ALCS. Wells has just two hits in 28 trips to the plate this postseason with two RBI, two walks and 12 K's. Rizzo has never faced Williams in his career, while Wells has a single and a strikeout in two at-bats. Rizzo is batting sixth on Friday, with Wells in the eight-hole as the Yankees look to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
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.
Austin Wells Starting Behind The Plate, Batting Cleanup
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.
Anthony Rizzo, Austin Wells Sitting Against Pirates
New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo and catcher Austin Wells will get the day off for Friday's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium a day after the team clinched the American League East division title. Oswaldo Cabrera will start at first base and bat ninth, while Jose Trevino will do the catching and hit eighth against Pirates rookie right-hander Jared Jones. The Yankees are giving a lot of their regulars a day off after they celebrated their division title on Thursday evening with a win over the division-rival Baltimore Orioles. Since returning from a fractured forearm on Sept. 1, Rizzo has gone 17-for-71 (.239) with no home runs, five doubles, seven RBI, eight walks and 17 strikeouts in 21 games played. The Yankees will be hoping he can find some of his power stroke from the left side of the plate with the playoffs starting next week.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells continued his strong offensive second half in Monday's 10-4 win over the Royals. Wells went 2-for-5 with a double, a three-run home run, four RBI, and a strikeout. The 25-year-old backstop broke a seventh-inning tie by driving a James McArthur fastball deep into the right-field seats for his 13th long ball of the season. While he has cooled off in September, Wells has put together a .295/.380/.511 second-half slash line with seven HR and 29 RBI in 135 at-bats. His current performance and exposure to an excellent Yankees lineup make him a potential fantasy option in most fantasy leagues down the stretch.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (hand) is back behind the plate and is batting cleanup for Friday's series opener at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs and left-hander Jordan Wicks. Wells was hit on the right hand by a pitch on Monday and avoided any structural damage, but he was forced to sit out the next two games as a result. The 25-year-old backstop is feeling better after Thursday's off day, though, and will return to the heart of the Bombers' order in a friendly matchup at the friendly confines. Wells will be looking to get back on track after a scorching month at the plate in August, but he's gone hitless in his last nine at-bats with three strikeouts since the calendar flipped to September. It's not the best matchup for Wells, as he's hit just .196 (10-for-51) with none of his 12 home runs on the year against lefties.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (hand) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Texas Rangers. This doesn't come as a surprise after Wells was hit by a pitch in the hand during Monday's game. Luckily, Wells is only considered as day-to-day after the X-rays came back clean on Tuesday. Jose Trevino will handle behind the plate and bat seventh versus left-hander Andrew Heaney on Tuesday. Trevino has struggled with a .185 batting average with four home runs and 11 RBI against left-handed pitching this season. He won't be an ideal fantasy option for Tuesday's slate.
Austin Wells Hitting Cleanup For Yankees On Saturday
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells is behind the plate and batting cleanup on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Kyle Gibson at Yankee Stadium, a day after hitting two home runs and driving in four runs in a 6-3 win. The 25-year-old mustachioed catcher has earned primary duties behind the plate this year for the Bombers and has been extremely hot at the plate lately. The former 28th overall pick in 2020 out of the University of Arizona is batting .319 (23-for-72) in the month of August with four home runs, four doubles, 15 RBI and four runs scored in 21 total games to bring his season slash line up to .256/.348/.444 with a .792 OPS in his second year in the big leagues. Wells is now up to 12 home runs and 42 RBI on the year in 93 games played. He has never faced Gibson yet in his career.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI in Friday's 6-3 win over the Cardinals. The two home runs brought him to 12 total for the season, nine of which have come in the last two months. The 25-year-old backstop has increased his batting average each month of the season so far, now hitting .319 in August. For the season, the former first-round draft pick is slashing .256/.348/.444 with a .343 wOBA and 124 wRC+. Managers looking for a hot bat in a good lineup for fantasy should give Wells a look and he's available in almost 75% of Yahoo leagues.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells collected three hits in Wednesday's 10-2 win over the White Sox, including his ninth home run of the season. The backstop also tallied three RBI in the contest hitting out of the fourth spot in the order. The former first-round draft pick is riding a 10-game hit streak in games in which he's started, and since July 22 is slashing .360/.419/.560 with eight extra-base hits and 18 RBI in 19 games. The University of Arizona product is still available in over 60% of Yahoo leagues, so managers looking for a hot bat at the catcher position who is hitting in the cleanup spot of a potent lineup should consider adding Wells.
Anthony Rizzo
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