Yankees taking a look at catcher Austin Wells as their leadoff hitter

TAMPA, Fla. — Batting leadoff for the Yankees . . . Austin Wells?

Odd as that may have seemed when spring training began, the second-year catcher is getting a long look in the leadoff spot.

Friday night’s game against the Blue Jays marked the fifth straight start for Wells in which he’s hit first in the lineup.

And for the second time in that stretch, Wells homered in the bottom of the first, doing so Friday night on an 0-and-2 sinker from righthander Yariel Rodriguez. He homered in the bottom of the first the previous Friday night, too, also against Toronto.

“I think he’s going to be a guy in his career that is going to get on base. That’s my No. 1 criteria for the leadoff spot,” Aaron Boone said before the Yankees' 8-7 victory. “Not saying I’m going to land on him for the leadoff spot, either. It’s just something that I’m looking at right now.”

When camp opened, Boone said he could see “six or seven” players hitting leadoff, mentioning Jasson Dominguez, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., DJ LeMahieu (who has since been injured) and Anthony Volpe, among others.

Wells, who singled in the third Friday, was not one of the players mentioned.

But in that first game of spring training hitting leadoff — Feb. 28 against the Blue Jays — the catcher ripped a long homer to right leading off the bottom of the first.

After that game, Wells said with a smile that he had “never led off at all in my life” and added, “Whatever’s needed, I’ll do it, for sure.”

“It might be the best option for now,” said one National League scout assigned to the Yankees’ system who has seen them for much of spring training. He noted, as other scouts have, Wells’ generally good plate discipline.

The scout said his choice, if he “becomes more selective” at the plate, would be Volpe, and the third-year shortstop ending up at leadoff can’t be ruled out. Reading the current tea leaves, not at the start of the season, though.

Chisholm has speed on the bases and some pop but is not known for his strike zone discipline. Dominguez would seem to have his hands full learning to play leftfield.

“I don’t hate it,” a rival American League scout said of Wells at leadoff. “I do think it’s putting a lot of pressure on him.”

Both scouts drew a parallel with what the Phillies have done with the lumbering Kyle Schwarber, who clearly is not a threat to steal bases but is known for his knowledge of the strike zone.

“You could argue it’s the Schwarber strategy of having a guy who controls the zone up top,” the AL scout said.

Wells hit .229 with a .322 on-base percentage last season but was better once moved up the order into the cleanup spot, where he hit .252 with a .330 OBP. The latter numbers would have been far better if not for a late-season slump — which extended into the postseason — in which a clearly fatigued rookie hit .111 with a .217 OBP in his final 21 regular-season games.

“I think he’s going to be a really good offensive player, right now,” Boone said. “And I think part of his offensive profile is going to be the ability to get on base.”

Stanton: Quick turnaround

Boone said Giancarlo Stanton returned to Tampa on Friday from New York, where the DH had been since Feb. 24 while dealing with what the Yankees at the time of his departure said were “personal” reasons.

After Boone spoke, which was about three hours before Friday night’s game, the club said Stanton will return to New York on Monday for a “third round” of PRP injections into both of his elbows, but his stay this time won’t be for more than a day.

Boone said there still is no timetable for when Stanton, who will start the season on the injured list, might be cleared to begin baseball activities.

Extra bases

Marcus Stroman, the fifth starter with Luis Gil set to miss at least the first three months of the season with a right lat strain, made his third exhibition start Friday and was sharp, allowing one run and two hits in three innings in which he struck out two . . . Boone said Clarke Schmidt, brought along a bit more slowly than the other starters in camp because of a back issue, will make his exhibition debut next week. He is likely to stay behind in Tampa when the team leaves for the regular season and be slotted in to start the club’s sixth game of the season, April 3 against Arizona.