The Dominican debut in the MLB that went unnoticed

The Dominican Republic reached 30 debuts in the 2023 season and 914 from 1956 to date during the day of Friday, September 1. On a night where all eyes were on the arrival of Jasson Domínguez to the Major Leagues along with the New York Yankees and Ronny. . Mauricio from the New York Mets to the “Big Top”, the debut of the player of Dominican origin, Austin Wells, went unnoticed.

The reality is that many of his compatriots do not know that Wells is half Dominican because of his mother and the fact that he was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, a city sparsely inhabited by Dominicans, does not help the recipient to be better known. . However, the player was chosen as a native in the 2021 Rookie Draft of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) by the Leones del Escogido in round fifteen, the same year that the team also selected Jasson Domínguez.

The latter is important, since according to the LIDOM rules, those born in Dominican territory will be considered as native players in accordance with what is established by the constitution and the laws, so Wells, for the purposes, must be considered as Dominican. .

In his major league debut, the Yankees’ eighth prospect had a quiet night at bat, picking up one single in four at-bats, but lived up to expectations defensively, where he had a fluid game at catcher.

During his three minor league seasons, the catcher hit .260 with an .846 OPS in 291 games. He hit 53 home runs and drove in 213 runs, proving that he can consistently generate power. This will help him significantly in a ballpark like Yankee Stadium.

His offensive production will be very necessary in the future of the team, taking into account that, since Gary Sánchez’s early years, production from the receiver position has not been the most consistent.