Noah-Gibson "Bo" Naylor (born February 21, 2000) is a Canadian professional baseball catcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
Bo Naylor | |
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![]() Naylor with the Cleveland Guardians in 2024 | |
Cleveland Guardians – No. 23 | |
Catcher | |
Born: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | February 21, 2000|
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
October 1, 2022, for the Cleveland Guardians | |
MLB statistics (through August 24, 2024) | |
Batting average | .216 |
Home runs | 21 |
Runs batted in | 68 |
Teams | |
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Amateur career
editNaylor attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, and played for the Canadian junior national baseball team.[1] He appeared in the Under Armour All-America Game and the Under-18 Baseball World Cup held in Ontario in 2017.[2][3] He committed to attend Texas A&M University to play college baseball.[4]
Professional career
editThe Cleveland Indians selected Naylor in the first round, with the 29th pick, in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[5][6] He signed with Cleveland, rather than enroll at Texas A&M, for a $2,578,138 signing bonus.[7] He was assigned to the Arizona League Indians and spent the whole season there, with a batting average of .274 with two home runs and 17 runs batted in (RBI) in 33 games played.[8] Naylor spent the 2019 season with the Lake County Captains.[9] Over 107 games, he batted .243 with 11 home runs and 65 RBI.[10]
Naylor did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] In 2021, he played with the Akron RubberDucks, slashing .188/.280/.332 with ten home runs and 44 RBI over 87 games.[12] In June, Naylor was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game.[13] In 2022, with Akron, Naylor had a .271 average, .898 OPS and six home runs. Naylor was promoted to the Columbus Clippers in June.[14]
The Guardians selected Naylor's contract on October 1, 2022, adding him to their active roster.[15] He made his major league debut the same day against the Kansas City Royals as a defensive replacement. He made his first start the next day.[16]
Before the 2023 season, Naylor played for the Canadian national baseball team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[17] The Guardians optioned Naylor to Columbus to start the 2023 season.[18] He played in 67 games for Cleveland in 2023, hitting .237/.339/.470 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI.[19]
On May 4, 2024, Naylor hit his first career grand slam off of Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels.[20]
Personal life
editNaylor's older brother, Josh Naylor, also plays for the Cleveland Guardians as a first baseman and outfielder.[21] His younger brother, Myles Naylor, plays for the Oakland Athletics organization.[22]
References
edit- ^ Melissa Couto (July 12, 2017). "Naylor brothers Josh, Noah rising on MLB radar". The Star. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Morgan Campbell (August 12, 2017). "Mississauga's Naylor hitting it big". The Star. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Colpitts, Iain (September 12, 2017). "Noah Naylor shines at Under-18 Baseball World Cup". Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Colpitts, Iain (October 12, 2016). "BASEBALL: Mississauga catcher Naylor commits to Texas A & M". Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Bastian, Jordan (May 24, 2018). "Indians take Noah Naylor 29th in MLB Draft". MLB.com. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Hoynes, Paul (June 5, 2018). "Cleveland Indians draft 2018: Canadian high school catcher Noah Naylor headlines four top picks". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Cleveland Indians. "Indians sign Canadian first-round draft pick Noah Naylor". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ "Bo Naylor Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- ^ "Indians' Bo Naylor: Assigned to Low-A". CBSSports.com. April 4, 2019.
- ^ "No. 3 Bo Naylor, C: Cleveland Indians top prospects right now". April 6, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ "It's a fresh start as RubberDucks, Baysox prepare for Double-A Northeast championship series".
- ^ "Futures Game rosters are STACKED". MLB.com.
- ^ "Columbus Clippers' Bo Naylor one step closer to joining brother Josh in Cleveland". Dispatch.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ "Cleveland Guardians add Bo Naylor, Zach Pleac; DFA Bryan Shaw, option Tyler Freeman". cleveland.com. January 7, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ "Naylor Bros: Bo Naylor making first MLB start for Guardians, set to bat right after brother Josh". News 5 Cleveland WEWS. October 2, 2022.
- ^ "Guardians option catcher Bo Naylor to Class AAA; battle for backup job begins". cleveland.com. March 10, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ "Why the Guardians optioned Bo Naylor". MLB.com.
- ^ "Bo Naylor 2023 batting Stats Per Game - MLB". espn.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ "Bo Naylor hits his 1st career grand slam, Guardians beat Angels 7-1". apnewe.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ "Naylor brothers homer in same frame, then win game on Sibling Day". MLB.com.
- ^ "Meet the 3rd Naylor brother, who's waiting in the wings". MLB.com.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet