Noah Naylor | C/3B
Background
Naylor, 18, attends St. Joan of Arc High School in Ontario. He is the younger brother of Padres prospect Josh Naylor, the 12th overall pick in the 2015 draft. Naylor is committed to Texas A&M.
Scouting Report
Noah is a different type of prospect than older brother. Josh is a big-bodied (5-foot-11 and 250 lbs.) first baseman whose best tool is his left-handed power. Noah is a left-handed hitter as well, though he is listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 lbs., and his offensive game is built around contact and the innate ability to get the fat part of the bat on the ball. He does have raw power, but is still learning how to use it in games. Naylor is a good athlete with a rocket arm, and while he’s rough around the edges now, he has the tools to remain behind the plate long-term. He’s also played some third base as an amateur and that could be a fallback option. The perfect world scenario here is a left-handed hitting catcher who hits for average and power, and provides some value with the glove as well.
Miscellany
Baseball America (subs. req’d) and Keith Law (subs. req’d) rank Naylor as the 20th and 21st best prospect in the draft class, respectively. MLB.com has him 32nd. The Yankees hold the 23rd overall pick. If Naylor goes in the first round, which is likely, it will be because the team believes he’ll be able to catch long-term. The Yankees have developed several big league catchers in recent years (Gary Sanchez, Austin Romine, Francisco Cervelli, John Ryan Murphy, etc.), and given his lefty bat and raw power, Naylor seems like the ideal project for the player development folks.
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