Managing Our Expectations As Guardians Call Up Bo Naylor

Bo Naylor is set to start for the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tommy Wild | Jun 18, 2023

Managing Our Expectations As Guardians Call Up Bo Naylor /

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I'm excited. You're excited. Bo Naylor is excited.

Cleveland's third-ranked prospect will be the starting catcher for the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon as they wrap up their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Naylor will catch a familiar arm as Tanner Bibee is lined up to be the team's starting pitcher.

It's looking like Naylor will be Cleveland's go-to catcher from here on out after they designated Mike Zunino for assignment on Friday.

Giving Bo the keys to the catching position is something that fans have been begging the front office to do going back to last season, and we're finally going to see that happen.

However, we also have to manage our expectations for the rookie as he makes the adjustment to the Big Leagues.

I'll start with this; the promotion is long overdue.

Bo is slashing .253/.393/.498 with an OPS of .891 at Triple-A this season. His slugging has been the most impressive part of his game as he's hit 13 home runs, 12 doubles, and driven in 48 runs.

Well, that didn't take long.@CleGuardians No. 4 prospect Bo Naylor homers on the first pitch he sees tonight for the @CLBClippers: pic.twitter.com/FwKUMVTTTq
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 9, 2023

Naylor has also received some playing time with the Big League club. He had eight plate appearances in 2022 and two this season, which ended in strikeouts five times. Bo is still looking for that first career hit.

We shouldn't look too much into these stats because it is such a small sample size, but it does show how there is a learning curve and a need for adjustments for prospects.

Bo's defense is also something that he's still developing.

The 23-year-old has caught 11 runners stealing and allowed 55 stolen bases. The new rules implemented into MLB have encouraged more base stealing, so this is something he will need to work on.

Terry Francona touched on this saying, "When Bo gets here, it'll be exciting because it's another young kid who we think can help us win. Now, we have to handle that appropriately."

Every statistic and evaluation points to Naylor being a great Major League player. However, the finished product isn't who's being called up. It'll take time for Bo to develop and we have to remember that as fans.

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Published Jun 18, 2023

TOMMY WILD