Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor is one of the stars of the future, not only for the franchise but in MLB as a whole.
In just 67 games in the majors last year, he was able to contribute 2.4 Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, which is a fantastic output.
The younger of the Naylors that belong to the Guardians hit .237/.339/.470 with 11 home runs and a 124 wRC+ (100 is considered league-average).
For a catcher, those offensive numbers are amazing.
Naylor has a reputation of being a bat-first catcher.
Sometimes, it might lead some people to believe he is a disaster behind the plate, which is not true.
He is not excellent, but he can hold his own with 1.7 Framing Runs and a -2 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).
That DRS can improve, but it isn’t atrocious.
In any case, he has the drive to get better and far from complaining about the Guards having too many catchers at big league camp, he is eager for the chance to learn as much as he can.
“Bo Naylor is looking forward to having so many former catchers in the Guardians clubhouse, including manager Stephen Vogt. Plans to be a sponge with all of the advice and information to come,” Cleveland sports reporter Hayden Grove tweeted.
Bo Naylor is looking forward to having so many former catchers in the Guardians clubhouse, including manager Stephen Vogt.
Plans to be a sponge with all of the advice and information to come.#Guardians pic.twitter.com/k5lwNTfkEM
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) January 20, 2024
Besides Vogt, who has ample experience as an MLB catcher under his belt and is now the manager, Cleveland will be adding projected backup Austin Hedges.
Hedges might not hit, but he is a very solid defensive catcher and can definitely mentor Naylor.
An area that Naylor should definitely work on is in the running game.
In 2023, 58 would-be base-stealers were successful, and he took only eight out.
He also had five passed balls.
Having all those backstops will help him, no doubt about it.
NEXT: Guardians Prospect Lands On Elite 2024 List
