There is one catcher in the New York Yankees minor league system that reminds me of a lot of the Yankees’ current backstop, Gary Sanchez. This prospect resembles Sanchez in so many ways, but the way that stands out the most for a catcher is power. Josh Breaux was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Breaux has displayed his power arm and power bat everywhere he has played in his career so far. In Junior College, Breaux hit 37 home runs and pitched a 100 MPH fastball as a reliever. Those two numbers right there tell you everything that you need to know about Breaux. The dude has unreal power and has powered his way into the Yankees’ top 30 prospects. He has dealt with some elbow issues that have slowed him down a little in his progression so far. He was only able to play 51 games last year in Charleston, but in those 51 games, Breaux definitely opened some eyes.
Raw Power on Display
In 2018, Breaux made his professional debut in rookie ball, and he definitely showed some promise hitting .269 and driving in 13 runs in 30 games. However, the step forward Breaux took last year cannot be ignored. In the 51 games last year, Breaux hit .271, had an OBP of .324, hit 13 homers, and drove home 49 runs. Those numbers would good enough to have an OPS of .842. Breaux did some definite damage last year with the bat in his hand. After hitting no homers in his first 30 games of rookie ball, Breaux really found his power swing last year. In watching him, he has very easy power that goes to all fields. Currently, he could easily develop into a guy who will hit you 30 home runs consistently every single year. One of the areas I saw improvement with Breaux was his ability to layoff pitches. This is still one of the areas he needs to improve, but it was nice to see the walks go up last year.
Repetition
When it comes to Breaux, he just needs to stay on the field and keep progressing. He needs to learn to control the zone a little more as a hitter, and he needs to tighten up a few things on the defensive side of the ball. The raw tools that Breaux does have make him a truly special prospect. With time, his eye is going to continue to develop which will make him even more dangerous at the plate He needs to continue to learn how to hit with pitches instead of pulling off and trying to smoke everything for a home run. Like the New York Yankees current catcher, Breaux needs to continue to work on his ability to block pitches in the dirt. Again, this is something that can be fine-tuned with repetition. I really like Breaux as a prospect, and I think the Yankees definitely have a guy who will crack the MLB roster one day and deliver a few eye-popping home runs.