Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | NYY | C | 34 | 35 |
Grades Update: Jan 2021
| OFP | Role | Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 30 | 55 | 30 |
Jan 2021 Report
Evaluator: Matt Thompson
Age: 23 yr
Height: 6-1
Weight: 220 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2018 Draft, Round 2
RuleV: 2021
Physical Description: Breaux is a muscle bound masher. Big forearms, strong back and shoulders. Was a former two-way player in college and has battled bouts of elbow soreness since getting drafted.
Hit: Starts with feet wider than shoulders, stance slightly closed. Holds hands in the middle of his body with gentle swaying to keep them loose. Modest leg kick and stride. As he lifts his front foot the hands cock and everything explodes towards the pitch. Stance opens up as he strides and he's able to keep hands inside the baseball. He's widened his feet and closed off since college. Hammers fastballs on the inner portion of the plate. He's one of the more aggressive hitters in professional baseball and has an ugly approach with more strikeouts and fewer walks than you would prefer. The swing has considerable length and a 27% K rate in short season A-ball is concerning. The optimistic side of me says a below average hit tool is the best future outcome here, but he's got some work to do to get there. Grade: 30
Power: Big power and exit velos are the name of the game for Breaux, and he's capable of swatting 25-30 homers as a full-time backstop if you ignore the other issues. He will need to improve his plate skills and contact rate to fully maximize his strength. Generates easy loft. Only 44% ground ball rate in last run. Plus power projection, maybe even a tick more than that for raw power but slim chance it optimizes due to a swing-heavy approach. Elbow injury likely takes away some thump here as well. Plus bat speed. Grade: 60
Field: Spent more time as a DH than a catcher due to arm injury. He's quite stiff and doesn't move well. Provides a sold target, but transfer and footwork issues drag down profile and put future behind the plate in question. Ultimately without a huge improvement behind the closed doors that were the 2020 offseason I think he's ticketed for first base/designted hitter and his approach issues can prevent that. Grade: 30
Arm: Has touched 100 on the mound, and would sit 95-98. Raw arm strength is plus but elbow injury and generally poor footwork takes away from throws. Spent more time as the DH rather than catcher due to arm injury. Needs reps. Weak 16% caught stealing rate to his career so far, plus arm held down by other defensive issues. Grade: 55
Run: Not quite bottom of the scale, but close. Giving him the benefit of the doubt as he moves decently while underway. Either way, not a tool to focus on with this profile. Grade: 30
Overall: I have my concerns about Breaux turning into a big league regular behind the plate, and his issues offensively will crush the profile and take him out at the knees before he's able to get off the ground. The power and arm strength are plus, but the supporting tools actively attack his strengths. He needs to develop some patience at the plate, and if he can do that while shortening his swing he can stick as a platoon option at first or designated hitter.
OFP: 35
Role: 30 - Up/Down Emergency Depth
Risk: High
