Catcher Bo Naylor is Cleveland’s #1 prospect and, hopefully, their starting catcher in the very near future. His status as the organization’s best prospect was cemented by an awesome 2022 campaign, where he hit .263/.392/.496 between AA and AAA. He was a late-season call-up to the majors, though was not able to get a hit in his eight at-bats. The Cleveland organization has made the strategic decision to value defense over offense when it comes to the catching position, but if Naylor continues to hit like this, he will forces the Guardians to change their calculus. While I love Austin Hedges as much as the next guy, it will be nice to see a catcher who doesn’t hit like a National League pitcher.
This was the first Bo Naylor autograph I ever got and is still the nicest looking in my collection.