Cleveland Indians: Analyzing the top five prospects for the Tribe

No. 4 Bo Naylor

A first round pick by the Cleveland Indians during the 2018 MLB Draft, Bo Naylor has been with the club longer than his brother Josh Naylor who is already in the majors and came to Cleveland via trade. A 21-year old catcher, Naylor bats from the left side of the plate and is the presumed catcher of the future for the Tribe.

Right now, Roberto Perez has an option for 2022 and then his contract ends regardless. As for Austin Hedges, he has an arbitration year for 2022 and then his contract ends as well, leaving the door completely wide open at the catcher position moving forward for Cleveland. That could be the perfect timeframe for Naylor to step in.

Naylor also got a Spring Training invite this season, appearing in eight games as well according to baseball-reference.com. In those eight games he had 10 at-bats, totaling a slash line of .400/.400/.700 thanks to four hits, one of which was a solo home run.

Having offensive production from the catcher position, though, is really just a plus. It’s the defense that matters, especially in the eyes of the Indians front office who have two of the best defensive catchers in the game on the roster. That’s also where Naylor will need to improve.

Over his career in the minors, which consists of 104 games behind the plate, Naylor has 14 errors for a .987 fielding percentage. That number is a big difference from the .998 and 1.000 stats that Perez has put up. If Naylor can clean up his glove, he should be on track to debut either this season or next, depending on the health and contracts of Perez and Hedges.