Former Yankees first-round pick leaves organization for second chance with Brewers

One year before the New York Yankees uncovered local shortstop (and eventual World Series grand slammer) Anthony Volpe at the tail end of the first round, they took a chance on a catcher/pitcher hybrid with the same first name.

Anthony Seigler came to the Yankees at pick No. 23 back in 2018 with a similar pedigree to Volpe: Team USA member, elite arm talent, room to grow on the offensive side of the ball. Ultimately, while we'll never know entirely what was to blame, it's difficult to fault the COVID shutdown for Seigler's recession and disappearance. After all, he played in 24 promising Rookie Ball games in the wake of being selected, then fought through just 30 games in Charleston in his full-season ball debut the next year (zero homers, 6 RBI, .175 average with a glitchy .328 OBP).

He never got back on track, stalling out for two seasons at Double-A Somerset in 2023 and 2024 almost by default. After giving up his mound dreams and dedicating his preparation to being a full-time catcher, Seigler finally surrendered that equipment in 2024, too, which quickly became his best pro season.

Now, after entering minor-league free agency following a .748 OPS, 12 bombs, and a .234 average in 118 games with Somerset, he's reportedly chosen a new home with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yankees first-round pick from 2018 Anthony Seigler joins Milwaukee Brewers

Seigler will now join another former Yankees reclamation project in Milwaukee: Deivi Garcia, who signed a minor-league deal earlier in the week with the intent to compete for a big-league bullpen role.

Garcia certainly made more of an impact in New York than Seigler, as both a prospect worth watching and an eventual contributor to a way-too-short playoff run (notoriously so), but neither party developed the way the Yankees were hoping. They'll both now join one of MLB's elite player development factories, a team that somehow never loses a step despite heavy turnover in free agency and seismic managerial shifts.

Until the Yankees can make their way to a Central Division (AL or NL, we're not picky!), we'll never know what it's like to be the Brew Crew. Maybe Seigler or Garcia can write to their old bosses about what they're doing right.