So, Wells Is Allegedly Tipping Pitches Now?

Low batting average, below average catcher… possibly tipping pitches. Sounds awful.

So now the baseball world is whispering—no, snickering—about whether Austin Wells is tipping pitches. This came out earlier in the week. I am just catching up. 

Former MLB pitcher Joe Ausanio and every self-appointed slow-motion-video guru on Twitter swear they’ve cracked the code: apparently Wells nods his head like a bobblehead on a pothole when he wants a changeup and keeps it still for a fastball. Wonderful. Just what we needed: a catcher who turns pitch-calling into interpretive dance.

Now, yes, this “tell” hasn’t been proven. It’s not science. It’s barely science fiction. But honestly? Do we even need proof? If someone told me Wells was accidentally holding up flashcards that says “FASTBALL COMING,” I’d shrug and say, “Yeah, that tracks.”

Because here’s the truth: anything involving Austin Wells messing up feels on-brand at this point to me. My eye test didn’t just fail him—it flat-out refused to grade the assignment. The Yankees shoved him into the big leagues like they were rushing out a product that wasn’t finished, and surprise! It performs like a product that wasn’t finished.

Wells’ 2025 season? A masterpiece of mediocrity.
• A .219 batting average that should come with a parental advisory label.
• Exit velocity falling off a cliff, waving goodbye on the way down.
• A batted-ball profile that screams “weak contact enthusiast.”
• A platoon role he’s clearly allergic to.
• And a nerve issue in his catching hand—because of course the one thing he needs most is malfunctioning. Hey, I guess you gotta blame something.  But if he hand is messed up, then why the hell are we running this guy out there every game?

Let’s stop pretending there was ever some blossoming star here. The hype around Wells evaporated faster than soda on hot pavement in my opinion. One minute he was “the next great Yankees catcher,” and the next minute he’s… well… Austin Wells.

And while we’re handing out blame, let’s not forget the real criminal masterminds here: the Yankees’ scouting and drafting department, who continue to evaluate players with all the success rate of someone throwing darts blindfolded in the dark during an earthquake. They hyped Wells, they rushed him, and now they’re gaslighting us into believing that he’s fine, it’s us!

Meanwhile Ben Rice, the backup, the understudy at catcher… is outplaying Wells. By a lot. When your backup catcher looks like Buster Posey compared to your starter, something has gone horribly wrong.

So, is Wells tipping pitches? Unconfirmed. But is Wells playing terribly? Oh, that’s confirmed. In triplicate. With a notary stamp.

And are the Yankees once again exposing how their drafting decisions belong in a museum next to “Failed Experiments of the 21st Century”? Absolutely.

At this point, the only thing Wells is tipping is the rest of us off that the Yankees’ player-evaluation system desperately needs a reboot.