Triple-A Columbus was down 9-2 during the top of the sixth Saturday with Andrew Abbott, the Minors' strikeout leader, on the mound. With a 1-1 count with two on, Guardians No. 4 prospect (MLB No. 54) Bo Naylor swung at a high pitch.
And it just kept going.
“Pretty much beforehand, I just find a pitch that I can drive and do what I do best,” he said. “To put the bat on the ball.”
The home run checked off a couple of firsts for Naylor this season. Coupled with his solo shot in the first inning, this marked Naylor’s first multihome run game of the year, and the third in his career with Triple-A Columbus. His 452-footer was also the furthest he has ever hit a ball at the Triple-A level.
“We’ve been staying consistent with the work we’ve been putting in, making sure that we don’t take anything for granted,” Naylor said of the blast. “[We are] going out there ready to compete every at-bat, every pitch.”
The three-run moonshot was the momentum shift the Clippers needed as they outscored the Bats 11-2 through the final four frames.
“We’re never out of it," Naylor said. "That’s the mentality that we tried to embody at any point in the game.”
Naylor would score again during a four-run rally in the top of the ninth to win it 13-11.
Leading all Triple-A catchers in home runs (nine) and OPS (.958) this year, the Mississauga, Ont., native is one of the top offensive threats at his position.
“One of the most common things as a catcher is being able to separate the two parts of the game, between offense and defense,” Naylor said. “I’m trying to be the best player for the guys around me [and] to be able to compete and be able to go out there and help them win ball games.”
New face, same name
Guardians fans are well accustomed to the name Naylor. Older brother Josh Naylor has been a mainstay on Cleveland’s roster since 2020. Younger brother Bo joined the organization two years before as a first-round pick in 2018.
“We've always been really close, and I think that [being teammates] has only made us that much closer,” Bo said.
For five games at the end of 2022, the brothers even got to share space in the lineup.
“This organization does a great job of making sure that the people they have are great people,” he said. “It makes me happy that we’re in that situation together.”
Though he has yet to register his first Major League hit, Naylor collected his fair share of knocks on a major stage this spring at the World Baseball Classic. As the starting catcher for Team Canada, he hit an opposite-field dinger off Astros starter and Team Mexico's José Urquidy.
Playing with -- and against -- baseball’s biggest stars both at the WBC and in the Majors gave Naylor a new outlook on his game.
“[You have to] know yourself and play within that, and make yourself the best person that you can be,” Naylor said. “When you embody that mentality, the natural swagger comes out.”
The added self-confidence gave him the extra boost to perform for the Clippers, and he's showing no signs of stopping.