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In 2015, before Naylor's senior year at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Mississauga, Ontario, he committed to Texas Tech. Then Naylor got drafted and signed by the Marlins (see Transactions below).
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Naylor spent several summers of his youth on travel teams. “Obviously it’s fun staying in high-class hotels and hanging out with everybody, but you miss home a lot,” the 17-year-old said in 2014 . “I really miss my brothers a lot and my parents [Jenice and Chris]. We always communicate and we FaceTime once in a while and I’m able to virtually see them, but it’s hard at times. But you’ve just got to keep going with baseball if you want to be successful.”
Naylor has two younger siblings hoping to someday follow in his footsteps, 14-year-old Noah and nine-year-old Myles (in 2014), both impressive ballplayers at their respective levels. The oldest Naylor brother knows they’re always watching and tries to pass on what he’s learned along the way.
“I tell them just to have fun,” he said. “There are obviously going to be ups and downs, and things aren’t always going to go your way, but you’ve got to have fun with it and just enjoy the moment that you’re in. If you’re in a big game against Mexico in Mexico with ten thousand [fans] there it’s kind of hard not to be excited.” (Alexis Brudnicki - Prep Baseball Report - 10/16/2014)
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In 2016, Baseball America rated Naylor as the second-best prospect in the Marlins organization. He dropped to #10 in the spring of 2017. He was at #14 in the winter before 2018 spring training. They had Josh at #9 in 2019.
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Josh's weight-gaining issues are a problem. But his drop in status is his seeming inability to tap into his power. While power comes last for most prospects, prospects with his body type generally hit for power right away. Evaluators still believe he can get there and become an average first baseman, and he’s young with bat speed, hand-eye coordination and more athleticism than you think, but he’s gotta turn those building blocks into power production at some point. (Kyle Glaser - Baseball America - 1/12/2018)
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Naylor made the Canadian junior national baseball team at the age of 15, winning the silver medal at the Under-18 Baseball World Cup held in South Korea in 2012. He won the bronze medal at the 2014 Under-18 Baseball World Cup.
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2016 Q&A:
Q: Who were your favorite players growing up? Did you model yourself after anyone when playing baseball as a kid?
A: My favorite player growing up is David Ortiz. I still idolize his game to this day. He brings so much energy to everyone once he walks up to the plate and I’ve always tried to make my game like his since I started baseball.
Q: While you were still in high school, you out-homered guys like Yasiel Puig, Josh Donaldson, Justin Morneau, and Brian Dozier in a home run derby at Target Field. What was it like to be able to compare your game to All-Stars at such a young age?
A: These are all guys I look up to and dream of playing with or against someday. That experience at Target Field is something I will never forget because the players welcomed me and made me feel like a big leaguer. I felt like I was in my comfort zone with an opportunity to watch and learn from some of the best hitters in baseball. I hope to be there again competing someday. (David Marcillo - Jan 21, 2016)
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Josh made major physical progress during the winter before 2016 spring training. "I dropped about 25 pounds this winter,” said Naylor, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds. “I was working out with a trainer in the morning, doing yoga in the afternoon and working out again at night.” Such dedication is good news for the Marlins.
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Long bus rides are a common complaint for most minor leaguers—but not for Josh. Naylor hails from high school in Ontario. As an amateur, he and his travel team went the Greyhound route to find competition in New York, Tennessee, Texas and Florida.
“I love bus rides,” said. “I play cards, listen to music, watch movies and hang out with my teammates.”
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June 2016: Apparently this lesson didn’t sink in for everyone in preschool: don’t play with knives. Stone Garrett, the Miami Marlins Minor League Player of the Year in 2015, landed on the disabled list after teammate Josh Naylor tried to pull off a gag, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
“Naylor has a reputation of being a bit of a prankster, but this one obviously went a little too far,” Hill said. Garrett received three stitches in his thumb from the undisclosed prank and was sent to Miami to have the injury evaluated by a hand specialist.
“I don't think you'll see Josh Naylor goofing around with knives any more,” Hill said. In 35 games this season in A-ball Greensboro, Garrett has hit .244/.303/.450 with five home runs after an early injury. (Kate Feldman - New York Daily News - June 6, 2016)
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January 2017: Naylor committed to play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.
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In 2017, Naylor represented the Padres in the All-Star Futures game.
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In 2017, Naylor was invited to play in the AFL Fall Stars Game.
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Naylor spent the offseason before 2019 spring training doing intense beach workouts in California. Like Kyle Schwarber, Naylor will have to slim down to make left field work.
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Josh was right at home for his big league debut, literally and figuratively. Naylor, from Mississauga, Ontario, had played more than a dozen games at Rogers Centre before he even delved into the professional realm, suiting up in the red-and-white uniform for the Canadian Junior National Team and representing his home province at Toronto’s annual amateur showcase, Tournament 12, at the big league ballpark.
“I think that’s why I’m not really experiencing any nervousness or heavy legs or anything like that,” said Naylor. “I’m really calm and relaxed here. Maybe it will hit me in New York [as the Padres continue their road trip] because I won’t be as comfy. But playing here, I feel just fine.”
Though the surroundings were familiar for Naylor’s first weekend in the Majors, his parents Chris and Jenice were in uncharted territory emotionally. Josh went 3-for-14 with a double and two RBI in three games.
“We’ve been here so many times, and this time feels completely different,” Jenice Naylor said. “He’s playing for another team, and because it’s a whole different level. I feel pressure for him, but I feel excitement for him at the same time. “He’s made it where he’s always dreamed of being. The pride, the work, and the culmination of everything makes it different, and it’s so exciting.”
The last time Jenice had seen her oldest son play in a game at Rogers Centre was also an emotional time, but for a different reason. In September 2014, Naylor arrived at the stadium for Tournament 12, after being stranded in Mexico with Team Canada when Hurricane Odile interrupted the 18U Pan American championship tournament. The squad was left without running water, electricity and any means of communication.
“We were all just kind of in shock,” Naylor said at the time, after the team was transported by military cargo plane from Tijuana to Los Angeles, before flying all the way home. “We all looked at each other and we kind of knew that we were going to be savages for the next few days.”
“It wasn’t anything different for him to come off that plane from Mexico and come and play baseball,” Jenice Naylor said. “And seeing him here now, it’s the same thing. He’s always go, go, go. ‘I’m here, I want to play, I want to help the team.’ He’s always been known as the Tasmanian devil of the family.”
Josh was grateful for being given the chance to get that work in at the Major League level just down the road from his parents’ home and to suit up alongside Padres No. 10 prospect and Port Hope, Ontario, native Cal Quantrill. His debut could draw a little bit more attention to baseball in his home country.
“Obviously baseball is growing in Canada, and I’m just very thankful to be a part of it,” he said. “I want to kind of show the road to those younger guys and be that person they can look up to. I try my hardest to play the game hard, the way I was always taught to, and represent Canada every way I can, and my family every way I can, in a good way.”
“When you go through that journey with somebody, for us it seems long,” Jenice Naylor said. “But it’s come relatively quicker than a lot of people would expect. Josh has always had aspirations, and nothing is ever good enough until he meets each and every goal, so for us, we knew he wanted to be at this level at this time, and he worked so hard to get here. He is where he should be.” (Brudnicki - mlb.com - 5/26/19)
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Josh has two brothers: 19-year-old Noah “Bo” Naylor and Myles, age 14.
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Feb 27, 2021: It may have only been an intra-squad scrimmage, but the Naylor brothers couldn’t wait to send a picture of the lineup card that listed both Josh’s and Bo’s names to their mom.
“It was surreal,” Josh Naylor said. “You don’t think like that, being in the same lineup as your brother. And when it does happen, it’s a blessing.”
“Seeing it first-hand, it was like, ‘Wow, this is really happening?’” Bo Naylor said. “You kind of take a step back and just appreciate what both of our lives have come to, you know?”
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It’s something they’ve only experienced one time in their lives. When Josh was 15 and Bo was 12, the two played in the same youth baseball game together when the older age group needed an extra player to fill in. “Bo came in and hit a pinch-hit double,” Josh said. “I remember it vividly. He had one at-bat. Maybe two at-bats, but one double, for sure.”
Maybe he remembered it so vividly because Josh never knew if that moment – having his brother on his team – would ever happen again. It’s the same feeling that he had just after the two reported to Goodyear, Ariz., together for Spring Training and he just sat back and watched Bo take batting practice.
“It was so surreal,” Josh said. “Watching off in the background, seeing him develop from when we were kids and watching his game improve yearly and his tools improve. Seeing it all play out on a big league field in front of me, it's beautiful.”
It’s a beautiful thing for an older brother who tried to be the best role model he could. Growing up in Canada, as Josh would say, “you’re born with a pair of skates on your feet.” Although they also grew up playing hockey, it was the feeling of swinging a bat that kept Josh so passionate about baseball. So, he started to pave the way for him and his brother.
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In 2015, Josh was drafted by the Marlins in the first round. He was traded to San Diego in 2016 and made his debut in 2019 for the Padres. He’s been able to share advice with Bo, who was drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Indians, following in Josh’s footsteps.
“Growing up, all through my life, I definitely looked up to him as a role model,” Bo said. “Seeing what he’s gone through his career, on and off the field, he’s definitely someone that I’ve looked up to. Day in and day out, I’m proud to be the one to call him my brother.”
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During the baseball season, their conversations had to happen from afar. Josh spent 2019 in San Diego and Bo was with Class A Lynchburg. But on Aug. 31, 2020, the two suddenly became much closer. Bo received a text from his mom that read, “Your brother just got traded.” Bo responded, “To who?” and let the suspense build as he waited for his mother’s response. “Cleveland,” she wrote.
“My jaw dropped,” Bo said. “It was just, like, ‘Wow, this is happening.’ Right from then, I started to picture all of the things that could’ve happened, all those possibilities. It was just an amazing feeling altogether.”
At the same time, it was easy for the brothers to both reflect on their journeys to reach this point. The two grew up playing catch in the street. Bo would squat down and catch Josh’s “bullpens” in the front yard when they were under 10 years old. Despite the two-and-a-half-year age difference, they were always competitive to see who would win bragging rights.
“Me and him make each other better as athletes,” Josh said, “and as humans because we want each other to be the best we can be.”
Every year, Josh and Bo train together in the offseason, and they even got their youngest brother (15-year-old Myles) to join them this past winter.
“Our family is very close knit,” Josh said, “so we kind of do it all together.”
Now, it may be a few more years until their names can get penciled into the same big league lineup, as 21-year-old Bo has yet to reach Double-A, so the brothers are taking advantage of their first Spring Training camp together and allowing themselves to dream – just a little bit – about the future.
“When [Bo] comes up to the big leagues and we're sharing a field together it's just so cool to look back,” Josh said. “We did all this work to get here at the same time. We're here at the same time now, and now we have the same goal in life. It's a blessing.” (M Bell - MLB.com - Feb 27, 2021)
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2021 Season: Naylor had played in 69 of the team’s 74 games last year, with seven home runs and a .253 batting average, when trouble struck.
On June 27 in Minnesota, Naylor was in right field and chasing a shallow flyball when he collided with second baseman Ernie Clement. Jorge Polanco wound up with a single — Naylor wasn’t so fortunate.
Naylor was taken to a hospital and was diagnosed with a “closed fracture and dislocation of the right ankle.” He underwent surgery later that week to repair those injuries, in addition to torn ligaments in the ankle.
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2022 Season: Josh Naylor was hardly incredible on the stat sheet. He was virtually useless against left-handed pitchers, and his 117 wRC+ from both sides of the plate isn’t good enough for true MVP consideration. But when it came to picking a top-10 Guardians list for 2022, Naylor wasn’t a hard choice.
The story of Naylor’s campaign — and what actually made it incredible — starts last June when he collided with Ernie Clement in the outfield of Target Field and suffered a horrific leg injury that prematurely ended his season after 69 games. We learned later that he fractured his ankle, but anything could have come to mind watching him squirm in pain a second after the collision. It was clear from the moment it happened that he was going to miss a lot of time. It looked like the kind of injury that guys just don’t fully recover from.
But he sure did.
Before he became the guy that wanted “all the smoke” and wasn’t afraid of any big moments, the injury kept him out for the first couple weeks of 2022; he did not debut until April 15 against the Giants. Merely playing again less than a full calendar year after he was writhing in pain from a fractured ankle was enough to consider his season to be “incredible,” but it’s what he continued to do day in and day out for a young team that cements it.
Pick any big moment in the Guardians’ magical 2022 season, and Naylor is probably there. His pair of home runs on May 9 against the White Sox was arguably the gelling moment of the year — I’d also argue for Myles Straw climbing the fence in New York, but that’s neither here nor there.
How about June 29 against the Twins, when he hit a ball 358 feet to left field (in an eerily similar location to another legendary Cleveland home run), and headbutted his manager so hard following his run around the bases that Tito opted to wear a helmet for future walk-off celebrations?
And of course, when the Guards were down in their potential series-clinching game against the Yankees in the ALDS, he hit a lead-off home run against Gerrit Cole in the fourth and broke into the now infamous “rock the baby” celebration around the bases. Naylor, staring directly at his own dugout, pretended to rock a baby and yelled “that’s my little fucking son” before holding his hand low to the ground to show how short his little son was.
It was great, I don’t care about the end outcome of the game or the series. It’s a celebration Naylor himself has done countless times over the season, and even Kwan did the second part of the celebration (holding his hand toward the ground) when he homered off Cole in Game 1. But the Yankees and their fans decided to get pissy about Josh’s gesture, probably because they were walked off on the day before and felt like their season was on the ropes. That doesn’t make it any less great.
Josh Naylor’s utter lunatic antics were the fire that this team seemed to need to get out of their own slumps. As the league’s youngest team, any kind of spark is welcome when things get rough, and Naylor gave it to them several times.
Now, with all that said, let’s get to the nitty gritty of Naylor’s first (mostly) full season in Cleveland.
This was, for various reasons, the closest Naylor has come to a full regular season’s playing time worth of baseball, and he handled it quite well all things considered. He absolutely cratered in September, though, as he began chasing the ball too much and it looked like fatigue from an offseason of rehabbing his injured ankle was setting in. Luckily everyone else on the team had a superb month and carried them into the postseason, so it didn’t have much of an impact — but it’s still A Thing.
Curiously enough, during this slump, Naylor’s contact rate actually skyrocketed to 89% at its peak in early September (his season average was 81.5%). The thing is, he was making more contact, but it wasn’t great. His ground ball rate also peaked at 62.7%, which is not a recipe for success for Naylor, even before he was running on a bum ankle.
Naylor finished the season slashing a career-best .256/.319/.452 with a 7.6% walk rate and 16.1% strikeout rate. Add on a career-high 20 home runs and it was the best season by a large margin. It’s the kind of season that intrigued the Guardians enough to acquire him in part of the Mike Clevinger deal back in 2020.
While Naylor made decent contact in most quadrants of the strike zone, he flourished on balls up and on the outer edge of the zone, where he had a wOBA of .585 against those particular pitches. Inside was another issue, however. (Matt Lyons@mattrly - Oct 25, 2022)
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Reds catcher Luke Maile commenting on Josh's reputation: My teammate last year. Watching him head-butt a future Hall of Fame manager in a celebration after a walk-off homer left me speechless for an amount of time that I’ve never been speechless before. I think if he told somebody when he was a kid that some day, that guy winning all those World Series with the Boston Red Sox, you’re going to head-butt that guy as hard as you can? I think that pretty much sums him up. Just to say that out loud. (Rosecrans - Mar 7, 2023 - The Athletic)
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Who are Josh Naylor's parents and what is their nationality? Guardians star's ethnicity and family heritage explored
Josh, who is one of three sons of Chris and Jenice Naylor, is yet another young Canadian star making a name for himself in the MLB. Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Josh is the eldest of three brothers with two younger boys named Noah and Myles.
Baseball has always been a staple in the Naylor family as Josh's father Chris helped coach his Mississauga North Tigers minor peewee team. It was through those moments that it was clear that baseball could be in the future for not only Josh Naylor but his brother Noah, who was drafted by Cleveland in 2018.
While his Canadian father helped coach him throughout his childhood, Josh said that he developed his love for the game from his Jamaican mother Jenice. The Naylor's frequently returned to the island throughout their lives, and it has helped shaped the Cleveland Guardians' first baseman. (Lyndon Suvanto - May 18, 2023)
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July 14, 2023: This is the stuff of childhood sports dreams. Brothers Bo Naylor and Josh Naylor not only both made it to the big leagues. They're also playing on the same team. Bo is a rookie catcher for the Guardians, and Josh is a fifth-year first baseman. They both hit home runs — in the same inning. Bo kicked off the scoring against the Rangers with a two-run blast off Texas starter Jon Gray in the top of the third inning.
The 435-foot blast to the right-field stands was the second home run of his MLB career.
Four batters later, Bo hit a two-run shot of his own. This one, also off Gray, was deposited into the stands just inside the right-field foul pole. (Jason Owens)
- Dec. 7, 2023: Naylor has been named the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2023 Tip O’Neill Award.
Canada’s baseball shrine presents this honor annually to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.
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2023 Season: In 121 games, he posted a 128 wRC+ with 17 homers and 97 runs batted in. He also hit over .300 for the first time and played strong defense (zero DRS, five OAA).
When he’s rolling, Naylor is one of the most exciting players to watch, as he wears his emotions on his sleeve with the best of them. Think back to the 2022 ALDS against the Yankees when he homered off of Gerrit Cole and proceeded to hit the “Rock the Baby” celebration as he rounded the bases.
Players like Naylor are great for the game, especially when he’s cooking as he was in 2023. (Jordan Leandre - Mar 7, 2024)
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July 2024: Naylor was chosen as a reserve in the MLB All-Star Game.
- 2024 Season: A peek at the more advanced metrics is a little more troublesome, as Naylor’s 118 wRC+ (from a .243/.320/.456 slash line in 633 plate appearances) was solid but not quite elite.
A peek at the more advanced metrics is a little more troublesome, as Naylor’s 118 wRC+ (from a .243/.320/.456 slash line in 633 plate appearances) was solid but not quite elite. (Mark Polishuk | October 26, 2024)
TRANSACTIONS
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June 2015: The Marlins chose Naylor in the first round (#12 overall), out of St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He signed with scout Steve Payne for $2.2 million, about $800,000 less than slot.
Josh became the highest-drafted Canadian batter ever, going a little bit higher than Brett Lawrie did. Lawrie went 16th overall in 2008.
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July 29, 2016: Padres traded RHP Andrew Cashner, RHP Colin Rea, RHP Tayron Guerrero and cash to the Marlins; acquiring RHP Jarred Cosart, RHP Carter Capps, RHP Luis Castillo, and OF Josh Naylor.
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Aug 31, 2020: In a big deadline deal, the Padres receive pitcher Mike Clevinger, outfielder Greg Allen and PTBNL from the Indians. The Indians received RHP Cal Quantrill, outfielder Josh Naylor, catcher Austin Hedges, SS Gabriel Arias, LHP Joey Cantillo, and SS Owen Miller.
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Jan 13, 2023: Josh and the Guardians avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $3.3 million.
- Jan 11, 2024: Josh and the Guardians avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $6.5 million.