The moment that Dom¨ªnguez, Wells found out about their promotions
Brent Maguire
@bmags94Prospects learning of their MLB promotions are often some of the most heartfelt stories in baseball. It was no different for Yankees prospects Jasson Dom¨ªnguez and Austin Wells.
On Wednesday, news broke that the Yankees were calling up Dom¨ªnguez -- the Yankees' No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- and Wells (No. 8 prospect). On Friday, the world got to see the moment that each of them learned the news.
"It was very exciting," Wells said Friday. "We actually got the news in front of everybody, so it was really, really cool to be around all the teammates. I wasn't there super long, but I feel like a lot of those guys, we became close in the time. So it was cool to hear that in front of them and be able to embrace them."
Dom¨ªnguez has been a well-known and highly touted international prospect since the Yankees signed him in 2019. As a top-100 prospect playing for baseball's most recognizable team, Dom¨ªnguez will have one of the most anticipated debuts in MLB history on Friday. Known as "The Martian," the 20-year-old outfielder owned a career .803 OPS with 36 home runs and 85 stolen bases in 294 career games in the Minors.
Wells, meanwhile, hasn't carried quite the same hype as Dom¨ªnguez but is a quality prospect nonetheless. The 2020 first-rounder is an offensive-minded catcher who slashed .260/.370/.476 with 53 home runs in 291 Minor League games. Wells will look to provide a boost to a Yankees' catching unit that has the second-worst OPS (.591) in the Majors in 2023.
In the Yankees' showdown against the Astros in Houston on Friday, Dom¨ªnguez batted fifth and played center field, while Wells was behind the plate and batted seventh.
"It's very special," Wells said. "I don't know a lot of guys who can say they debuted with four or five guys from the Minors that they played with. So being able to be here with them and have them in the lineup definitely makes it a lot more comfortable."