The Naylor’s: Canadian MLB Family Has One More Close to the MLB Draft
With Josh and Bo Naylor finding themselves on the Cleveland Guardians, brother Myles is just one year away from being eligible for the draft.
Fans of the Cleveland Guardians already know the name, Naylor, as both Josh and Bo are currently on the postseason roster for the AL Central club as they take on the New York Yankees in the ALDS.
Josh, the oldest, was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft at 12th overall. He would be traded almost a year later to the San Diego Padres in a seven-player deal involving Andrew Cashner heading to Miami and a ton of relief pitchers moving in the deal. Naylor made his debut in 2019, appearing in 94 games for the Padres splitting time between the corner outfield positions.
Josh would be moved at the 2020 trade deadline, heading to the Guardians as one of the prospect pieces that saw Mike Clevinger head to California. Since arriving in Cleveland, Naylor has predominantly spent his time at first base and owns a .253/.310/.421 slash line through 743 at-bats, adding 27 home runs and 102 RBI to the tune of a .732 OPS.
The Mississauga-born slugger missed a good chunk of the 2021 campaign after suffering a gruesome ankle/leg injury after colliding with teammate Ernie Clement when both players were trying to track down a bloop fly ball. Now healthy, Naylor is a key member of the Guardians postseason roster.
Cleveland Guardians’ Brother Tandem
The trade to Cleveland not only provided Naylor with a new change of scenery but also reunited him with his brother, Bo, who was the Guardians’ first-round pick back in 2018. The middle brother, currently ranked as the Guardians’ #5 prospect, is in line to take over as the clubs starting catcher in the near future, receiving the call to the show on October 1st.
The younger Naylor got into eight at-bats and struck out five times, failing to record his first MLB hit but joining Cleveland in the postseason as the club’s No. 3 catcher on the depth charts.
Having two brothers on the same squad is a pretty impressive feat, let alone that both hail from the great white North, products of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School and the Canadian Junior National Team and program. That being said, the Naylor brotherhood doesn’t stop there, as there is an even younger brother working his way through high school, and he is draft-eligible next season.
Introducing Myles, the Third Naylor
The youngest of the Naylor trio is Myles, who is currently considered a 2023 grad and spends his time with the Ontario Blue Jays baseball program and with the Junior National Team, making the squad for the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup under the guidance of manager Greg Hamilton.
Through 17 at-bats, Myles collected eight hits, including one double and one home run, sporting a .471 batting average and a 1.331 OPS with six walks and four strikeouts. He committed three errors at third base through eight games, posting a .850 fielding percentage with 11 assists for a 2-6 Canadian squad.
Regarded as one of the top prospects in Canada right now, Myles spends his time at shortstop and third base and many believe he could be the most talented of them all given his bat speed, power, and athleticism on the diamond.
At the Canadian Futures Showcase, which brings some of the most talented high school players across Canada together for a tournament in front of scouts, Myles won the home run derby by belting 19 on the day, with nine alone coming in the championship round.
With all this in mind, the youngest Naylor brother was flooded with NCAA programs wanting him to come to play baseball down south following high school, with Myles deciding to follow his brother Josh’s footsteps in committing to Texas Tech.
Josh never became a Red Raider after getting drafted in the first round and neither did his brother Bo, who would forego his commitment to Texas A&M when he heard his name called late in the first round as well. There is potentially a similar decision coming for Myles as well, as the Mississauga product is already gaining some traction from sites like Prospects Live and receiving a 9.5 grade from Perfect Game during the 2022 National Showcase.
There is still lots of time before the 2023 MLB Draft rolls around and with Myles likely spending some time with the Canadian Junior National Team and the Ontario Blue Jays before then, there is the possibility that the youngest brother could hear his name called early in the draft.
With that in mind, there could be a situation where there are three Naylor brothers are playing in the MLB within the next five years, creating potentially one of the strongest baseball families to ever come out of Canada.
Written by
Tyson Shushkewich grew up in a small farming community just east of Lethbridge, Alberta. He would leave this small town for Halifax, Nova Scotia, and attend…