SAN DIEGO -- Josh Naylor will make his long-awaited Marlins Park professional debut next month at the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game. The slugging first baseman will be joined by fellow Canadian and the Padres' No. 2 prospect Cal Quantrill on the World team.
On Thursday, Naylor and Quantrill were announced as the Padres' representatives in the game, which takes place at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 9, as part of All-Star week's festivities, and may be viewed live on MLB Network and MLB.com.
Naylor, who was drafted by the Marlins in 2015, came to the Padres at the Trade Deadline last season as part of the Andrew Cashner deal. He's hitting .296/.365/.447 at Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore, despite being one of the youngest players in the California League. Naylor, the club's No. 13 prospect, turned 20 a week ago.
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Quantrill, meanwhile, has had similar success this season for Lake Elsinore, where he has a 3.59 ERA and has posted 72 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings.
The inclusion of Naylor and Quantrill is indicative of the organization's talent coup over the last 13 months. Naylor arrived via trade and Quantrill with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 Draft. In that time, the Padres completely overhauled their farm system, with 16 of their top 30 prospects having arrived since last June.
"There were a lot of really good candidates, said Padres farm director Sam Geaney. "These two are definitely as deserving as anyone. ... If anything, it's kind of a nice mix, obviously a testament to the work our pro scouts did [to acquire Naylor]. And also credit to [amateur scouting director] Mark [Conner] and his group and the work they did to get Cal here."
It's the second consecutive Futures Game bid for Naylor. He spent last year's All-Star break in San Diego as a Marlins prospect. This summer, he'll flip that script, as a Padres prospect in Miami.
Naylor has long been lauded for his offensive abilities. But Geaney praised the work he's done to improve his defensive game as well.
"He's absolutely all in on being a well-rounded baseball player," Geaney said. "... Offensively, he came to us with a very smooth, natural swing. He's always swung the bat well. Now, he's really developing an approach that complements his very serious offensive tools."
This July's Futures Game offers a bit of a different outlook for the Padres from the 2016 version. A year ago, Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe and Carlos Asuaje -- all currently with the big league club -- took part. Quantrill and Naylor aren't quite as close to being big league-ready.
It's the first full professional season for Quantrill, so naturally it's also his first Futures Game. He was coming off Tommy John surgery when the Padres selected him in last June's Draft.
"He was healthy last year, but he's still kind of making up for some time, having missed his junior season after surgery," Geaney said. "... As far as his delivery, it's free. He's got four pitches. He's been very, very strong. Also, I think there have been some positive changes he's made in his delivery. ... He's got, hopefully, a chance to be a part of the rotation in San Diego in the not too distant future."