TORONTO — The Yankees had high expectations for catching prospect Josh Breaux when they drafted him in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
In 2019, Breaux was ranked as the Yankees’ No. 15 prospect by MLB Pipeline, known for his raw power and strong arm behind the plate.
However, after several years of seeing Breaux gradually slip down the organization’s depth chart at catcher, the Yankees decided to release him on Saturday.
The past few years were challenging for Breaux due to performance issues and injuries, and this season was especially tough.
Breaux played in only 11 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .143 (5-for-35). He was a non-roster invitee with the major league club for a while this spring, played with the RailRiders in April, and then was placed on the Yankees’ Development List in May.
Catching has become a strong point for the Yankees in their farm system in recent years, with players like Austin Wells, Ben Rice, and Agustin Ramirez emerging, so the departure of Breaux is not a significant loss.
Overall, Breaux has hit .241 with a .752 OPS in his minor league career with the Yankees since his debut in rookie ball in 2018. He hit 69 home runs in 326 games but struck out 354 times, with his strikeout rate being a significant flaw. Breaux’s performance declined at each level as he moved closer to the major leagues, and he never made it to the big leagues in pinstripes.
The Yankees’ top picks from the 2018 draft class have not performed as expected. Anthony Seigler, the first-round pick, also failed to live up to the hype and is now playing second base in Double-A Somerset, struggling to keep his batting average above .200.
Wells may actually be the best pick from that class. Although he was selected in the 35th round out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and did not sign, opting to play for the University of Arizona, he later became a first-round pick for the Yankees two years later. He is now part of their catching tandem in the major leagues and is projected to be a starting catcher for the Yankees for years to come.
