Josh Breaux

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #20 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: After two years at McLennan JC, Breaux intrigued scouts with his power both on the mound and in the batter’s box. As a pitcher, he brought his fastball into the upper 90s. As a hitter, he showed huge raw juice. The Yankees liked him more as a hitter and spent their second-round choice on him in 2018. Injuries and the pandemic limited him to just 81 official games (plus five more games in the Constellation Energy League during the shutdown) entering 2021.
  
  Scouting Report: Early in the season, it looked as if the book on Breaux would be the same as ever: Big power, lots of swing and miss and little chance to stick behind the plate. As the year went on, he made some changes and saw big results. First, he stood taller in the box and narrowed his stance. He also worked with Yankees coaches to eliminate some of the bigger moving parts in his swing while also improving his swing decisions. The changes worked, and from June 1 through the end of his tenure with High-A, Breaux hit .290/.340/.590. He regressed upon reaching Double-A, but overall the year included some of the most positive markers of his career. He has a plus arm behind the plate, but he needs to get to it more quickly in order to throw out more runners. He also needs to improve his blocking and receiving.
  
  The Future: If Breaux can continue to build upon the strides he made at the beginning of the season, he could have a future as an offense-oriented backup. He’s likely to return to Double-A in 2022.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #88 prospect in 2018 draft
  Breaux has one of the best arms in this draft class, as he sits 95-98 mph and has touched 100 mph on some radar guns when working as a one-inning reliever. But teams have rarely seen him pitch as he's also McLennan's catcher and best power hitter, and Breaux wants to be a position player. Breaux threw 13 innings as a freshman and, as a sophomore, he'd thrown only four innings as of early May. As a catcher, Breaux is below-average defensively, but he's shown significant improvement over the past two years. His plus-plus arm serves him well, but he's a little stiff and has to work on improving his flexibility and receiving. Breaux is a solid athlete and runs well for a catcher (6.8 seconds in the 60-yard dash), giving him an option of playing in the outfield as well. Breaux's calling card as a hitter is his plus-plus raw power. He has 25-plus home run potential, although scouts wonder if his significant swing-and-miss will keep him from being better than a below-average hitter. He does have a track record of hitting with wood last summer in the Cape Cod League (.271/.310/.474) and he has produced this spring (.398/.524/.801) with more walks (40) than strikeouts (34). Breaux has signed with Arkansas, where he could be a two-way star, but his power potential could get him drafted as a position player, and he always has a fall-back option of moving to the mound if hitting doesn't work out.
• Ranked #301 prospect in 2017 draft
  McLennan (Texas) JC had a pair of Breauxs leading its team. Sophomore outfielder Joe Breaux, a potential late-round pick himself, is a productive hitter but it's his younger brother Josh, a freshman, who has wowed scouts this year. Breaux hit .401/.473/.773 with a team-best 19 home runs and he hit four home runs during the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. He has plus power which comes from an easy, balanced swing. He's got some work to do behind the plate but he has a plus arm strength, which is also apparent on the mound where Breaux can touch 94-95 mph. His delivery is effortful with a head whack and a less-than-ideal arm action.

• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: After two years at McLennan JC, Breaux intrigued scouts with his power both on the mound and in the batter’s box. As a pitcher, he brought his fastball into the upper 90s. As a hitter, he showed huge raw juice. The Yankees liked him more as a hitter and spent their second-round choice on him in 2018. Injuries and the pandemic limited him to just 81 official games (plus five more games in the Constellation Energy League during the shutdown) entering 2021.
  
  Scouting Report: Early in the season, it looked as if the book on Breaux would be the same as ever: Big power, lots of swing and miss and little chance to stick behind the plate. As the year went on, he made some changes and saw big results. First, he stood taller in the box and narrowed his stance. He also worked with Yankees coaches to eliminate some of the bigger moving parts in his swing while also improving his swing decisions. The changes worked, and from June 1 through the end of his tenure with High-A, Breaux hit .290/.340/.590. He regressed upon reaching Double-A, but overall the year included some of the most positive markers of his career. He has a plus arm behind the plate, but he needs to get to it more quickly in order to throw out more runners. He also needs to improve his blocking and receiving.
  
  The Future: If Breaux can continue to build upon the strides he made at the beginning of the season, he could have a future as an offense-oriented backup. He’s likely to return to Double-A in 2022.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  The Yankees selected Breaux in the second round of the 2018 draft out of McLennan (Texas) JC. Before this season, scouts had panned his all-or-nothing approach, and injuries limited him to just 51 games in 2019. There were more approach questions when this season opened, but as the year has worn on and some of the rust has kicked off, more of his signature power has shown up.