Cleveland Guardians Star Josh Naylor Named AL Player of The Week
Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor has been named American League Player of the Week, via press release from MLB public relations.
Naylor went 10-for-25 with three home runs, three doubles and eight RBI while posting a 1.303 OPS in six games last week. Two of his homers came in a win over the Seattle Mariners last Wednesday. It marked the fourth multi-home game of his career.
Naylor led the AL in total bases (22) and was tied for the league lead with six extra-base hits. Plus, he finished second in the AL in RBI and runs scored (seven).
On the season overall, the 27-year-old is slashing .244/.324/.511 with 20 long balls and 58 RBI over 306 plate appearances. He could very well be on his way to his first All-Star appearance.
Naylor was originally acquired by the Guardians back in 2020 in a deal that sent starting pitcher Mike Clevinger to the San Diego Padres.
He played in 22 games with Cleveland for the remainder of 2020, but failed to log a home run across 66 trips to the dish. The following year, Naylor played in 69 games and slashed .253/.301/.399 with seven dingers and 21 RBI.
It wasn't until 2022 when Naylor finally started to break through, slashing .256/.319/.452 and flashing some decent pop with 20 home runs and 79 RBI. He then broke out in a big way last season, registering a .308/.354/.489 slash line to go along with 17 homers and 97 RBI.
While Naylor's average is down a bit this year, he is turning himself into quite the power bat and has played a critical role in guiding the Guardians to a 49-26 start.
Cleveland owns a comfortable 7.5-game lead over the Kansas City Royals for first place in the AL Central.
Naylor will look to maintain his torrid pace on Monday night as the Cleveland Guardians take on the Baltimore Orioles in search of their sixth straight win.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT