MLB Draft 2018: Yankees select Josh Breaux 61st overall

For their second pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, the Yankees selected catcher Josh Breaux out of McLennan Community College in Texas. The team decided to double down on catching in the draft, apparently.

Breaux is a six-foot-one, 220-pound backstop. He ranked 71st on MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospects. Baseball America considered him the 88th best eligible prospect in their top 500 list. The Yankees were connected to prep bats and pitchers leading up to the draft, so a college catcher is somewhat of a surprise.

Scouting reports indicate that Breaux possesses “well above-average raw power to all fields and an aggressive right-handed swing that generates uncommon bat speed.” That’s evident in his 2018 line with McLennan CC, where he hit 404/.532/.831 with 18 home runs. Breaux also has experience as a pitcher and flirted with a triple-digit fastball. The Yankees, however, selected him as a catcher.

Considering the slot for the 61st pick, Breaux is valued at $1,086,900. Anthony Seigler, the team’s first round pick, shouldn’t figure to command an over-slot bonus. One would expect Breaux to receive to receive the straight slot bonus or close to it.

It’s also worth mentioning that Nick Swisher announced the pick for the Yankees. That had to be intentional, right?

It’s clear now that the Yankees prioritized filling the holes in their organizational catching depth. That was the system’s glaring weakness. Should they sign both Seigler and Breaux, the pipeline will look a lot better.