Cleveland Sports Forum

Bo is really good on the walk totals. And not bad on the rest. How about stolen bases
? I bet he leads all those guys in steals [15!] and his 4 triples show his speed, too

Don't know anything about those others, but as a 22 year old in AAA he's got to one of the youngest catchers at that level.
I am very impressed with the improvement he's made in his game this year.
He says he's the subdued brother but knowing the dedication Josh had to get back this year makes me think this is a good family to be part of , too.

Bo's improvement this year is startling.

in 2021 he struck out 112 times and walked 37
in 2022 back at Akron the comparison was 46/45 and in Columbus 27 to 18

in 2021 he hit 189 for Akron
in 2022 he hit 271 at Akron and even better 293 in Columbus

defense was not considered a problem last year; he threw out 31% of basestealers
in 2022 he threw out 37% for Akron and 50%! for Columbus

looked up the other 3 catchers on that list of 4

Raudy Read is a 29 year old who's been in the majors, now back in the minors. So he would be more comparable to a Sandy Leon or Maile
Paul McIntosh is a 24 year old C/DH in AA; he's thrown out 16% of base stealers
the only one actually comparable is Logan O'Hoppe 22 like Naylor, all season in AA; his caught stealing rate is 22%

I know that there are a bunch of catchers in prospect Top 100's and Naylor has returned just to the list in mid-season rankings, soaring up to No. 61 so
he may not be the best there is but he's looking awfully promising for near term.

In the ratings ahead of Bo are:

No. 1 prospect Gabriel Moreno TOR
No. 5 Francisco Alvarez NY Mets
No. 9 Diego Cartaya LA Dodges
No, 31 Drew Romo Colorado
No. 42 Henry Davis Pittsburgh
No. 43 Tyler Soderstrom Oakland
No. 59 Luis Campusano San Diego

Brief description of Bo is:
Tools: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Fielding: 55 | Arm: 60 [note these numbers have NOT been adjusted for his 2022 performance]

Skinny: After a forgettable 2021 season, Naylor has been one of the best hitters regardless of position in the minor leagues this season. His plate approach is advanced and he shows above-average or better bat-to-ball skills with above-average power and strong defense behind the plate. He's one of the top catchers in the minor leagues.

on Guardians' prospect list Bo moved up from 7 to 4 at midseason by BA.
I'm not sure if Keith Law rates him so high, if not I don't know why.

civ ollilavad wrote:looked up the other 3 catchers on that list of 4

the only one actually comparable is Logan O'Hoppe 22 like Naylor, all season in AA; his caught stealing rate is 22%

civ - correct O'Hoppe is a stud offensive guy and very much comparable to Bo Naylor. He is now traded to the Angels and - unlike the Guards - the Angels system is pretty crappy.

So what I am saying is that if O'Hoppe's defense is an issue there's plenty of places he can go on the Angels on the field to play his best position...hitter. So he may not even end up a catcher.

I think that list of 5 was AA only.

Thanks. What I know is that I like Bo.

Logan Allen with his best AAA game last night, 5 2/3 shutout innings. He would have been much more likely to get the promotion that went to Gaddis based on his prospect ranking and his excellent work for Akron earlier in the year.

in case anyone's interested, Bobby Bradley has been woeful in Columbus, hitting around 180, some homers but nothing else.
I'd have to guess he's pretty disappointed in the status of his career.
I hope he gets picked up by another team in the winter and gets a new lease on his baseball life. Perhaps he'll have more success in Korea or Mexico or Japan.

Thursday games, a couple were rained out
CLE AAA #9 Logan Allen, LHP 5.2 5 0 0 2 4 4.11 W (6-6) Columbus ERA 6.86
CLE MAJ #1 Tyler Freeman, SS 3 0 0 0 .272
CLE AAA #5 Gabriel Arias, SS 3 2 2 1 .209 2B (6), HR (8),
CLE MAJ #6 Nolan Jones, 3B 3 0 0 0 .293
CLE HiA #18 Gabriel Rodriguez, 3B 4 0 0 0 .272 BB (29),
CLE HiA #22 Petey Halpin, OF 4 0 0 0 .261 BB (35), SB (15),
CLE AAA #24 Ernie Clement, 2B 4 0 0 0 .197
CLE HiA #25 Aaron Bracho, 2B 4 0 0 0 .155 BB (18),
CLE MAJ #27 Steven Kwan, OF 4 0 1 0 .292 he's graduated by now
CLE LoA #32 Isaiah Greene, OF 3 0 1 1 .223 BB (69), SB (27),
CLE HiA #33 Milan Tolentino, 2B 4 0 0 0 .287 BB (54),
CLE R #35 Jose Pastrano, 2B 1 0 0 1 .172 here's one guy who won't be on the list next year
CLE LoA #38 Yordys Valdes, SS 4 1 1 0 .245

AAA
Naylor single and walk
Brennan double and 2 singles
Reyes single
Clement single and walk
Mercado single and walk

AA 3 hits by the Ducks: Rocchio, Noel and Lavastida singled.
Valera 0-4- with 3 strikeouts
in April OPS 772 May 908 June 991 July 647 August 077 [0-12 with 1 walk and 9 strikeouts]
Our No 1 position player prospect is not ready for promotion to AAA this summer
Gavin Williams 1 2/3 innings, no baserunners, 3 strikeouts and departed

High A
Angel Martinez double and single
Planez HR 15
Halpin single and 2 walks
JRod single and walk
GRod walk
Tolentino single
2nd round pick 2021 Doug Nikhazy retakes league lead in walks: 4 1/3 4 5 5 6 5 3.73 ERA

Low A
Hillcats rally with 7 in the 9th to win 14-13! Or was a football score?
Valdes 2 singles
Jr Sanquintin has been getting hot of late, 3 singles double
OF Cesar Idrogo recently arrived from extended training He's 333/436/545 in 11 games; OPS last year was 507 in 13 games for Lynchburg, that was his whole season
19 year old SS Juan Benjamin also a newcomer with 3 singles in his 2nd game; in Arizona he was 296/442/519.
Perhaps another talented middle infielder?
Starter Ryan Webb was less effective than Gaddis in Cleveland: 1 2/3 6 8 3 3 0

Sunday

CLE AA #3 Brayan Rocchio, SS 5 0 0 0 .260
CLE AA #4 George Valera, SS 3 1 1 0 .266 2B (17), BB (51),
CLE AAA #5 Gabriel Arias, SS 4 0 0 0 .211
CLE AA #11 Jose Tena, SS 4 0 2 3 .269 2B (19), BB (16), CS (4),
CLE AA #16 Bryan Lavastida, C 5 1 2 1 .218 HR (4), SB (5),
CLE HiA #18 Gabl Rodriguez, 3B 3 2 1 1 .270 HR (9), BB (30),
CLE AA #20 Jhonkensy Noel, 3B 4 1 1 0 .215 3B (1),
CLE HiA #22 Petey Halpin, OF 4 0 1 1 .262 3B (4),
CLE AAA #24 Ernie Clement, 2B 4 1 2 2 .212 2B (4),
CLE HiA #25 Aaron Bracho, 2B 4 2 2 0 .156 2B (7), E (4),
CLE MAJ #27 Steven Kwan, OF 3 0 2 0 .294 BB (37),
CLE LoA #32 Isaiah Greene, OF 3 1 1 0 .225 2B (10), BB (73), SB (30),
10th in the league in steals; but he's only been caught twice so he must have the best success rate;
leads the league in walks
so he's 8th in on base pct despite that batting average
CLE HiA #33 Milan Tolentino, 2B 4 1 1 3 .290 HR (4), BB (56), 2 E (12),
CLE LoA #38 Yordys Valdes, SS 4 0 1 0 .246 E (13),
CLE AAA #39 Will Brennan, OF 3 2 3 0 .330 2B (29), BB (43), SB (18),

the only pitcher on the preseason top 30 in action was the struggling 3rd round pick in 2021

CLE HiA #29 Tommy Mace, RHP 4.2 6 7 4 2 6 5.34

but also in action is the soaring No. 5 pick in 2021:

CLE AA Tanner Bibee 6 4 1 1 0 6 [1.76 in Akron with 1.00 WHIP
for the season 118K/16 BB in Akron 34/2 Reminds one of Bieber

MILB Players of the Month for July 2 slow-rising Guardian outfielders

International League (Triple-A)

Columbus Clippers (Guardians) outfielder Will Benson batted .371/.481/.674 and led the league in total bases (60). He was second in runs (30), hits (33), walks (19) and on-base percentage (.481) and finished third in doubles (eight), slugging percentage (.674) and OPS (1.155). His .371 average was fourth in the league as he hit safely in 22 of 23 games, including eight multi-hit games, and had hitting streaks of nine and 13 games. Benson, 24, made his MLB debut on August 1, and was selected by Cleveland in the first round (14th overall) of the 2016 MLB Draft out of Westminster High School in Atlanta.

Midwest League (High-A)

Lake County Captains (Guardians) outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez batted .378/.420/.805 and led the league in runs (19), home runs (nine), RBIs (25), total bases (66), slugging percentage (.805) and OPS (1.225). He was second in hits (31) and third in average (.378) and doubles (eight). He recorded nine multi-hit games and bookended the All-Star break with consecutive four-hit games on July 16 and 22. Rodriguez, 22, was selected by Cleveland in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Florida, Puerto Rico.

Baseball America's last in-season revision of their Top 100, including this year's draftees, and eliminating "graduates" to the majors.

Cleveland's

No. 17 Daniel Espino, who might be higher if he pitched
Fastball 70 Curve 560 Slider 60 Changeup 50 Control 50
No. 37 Gavin Williams
Fastball 70 Curve 60 Slider 55 Changeup 50 Control 50
No 45 George Valera
Hit 55 Power 55 Run 50 Fielding 50 Arm 50 "a beautiful swing" 'above average to all star offensive production"
No. 64 Bo Naylor
Hit 50 Power 50 Run 50 Fielding 55 Arm 60 "plate approach is advanced" "strong defense behind the plate"
No. 76 Brayan Rocchio
Hit 55 Power 30 Run 60 Fielding 60 Arm 50 [power has been ticking up this month]
No. 96 Logan Allen
Fastball 50 Slider 50 Changeup 60 Control 50

Pretty amazing Gavin Williams has passed Valera eh? Rapid rise for Gavin.