Fans begged the Cleveland Guardians to promote Bo Naylor through the early months of the 2023 season. Finally, on June 17, just that happened. The organization's top-catching prospect joined the major league roster for good.
The start of the Nalor catcher era was slow and a little underwhelming at face value. He didn't light it up at the plate and his defensive numbers were average.
This was never something that bothered Naylor though. Yes, the on-field production may have painted the picture that Bo was struggling. However, he was learning to manage a major league pitching staff while also adjusting to big league pitching on offense.
Sometimes it just takes time for everything to click.
This is what Bo had to say about his rookie season and slow start on the Cleveland Guardians Podcast.
"I definitely think it was the natural progression," said Naylor. "I think I was really trying to take care of the things behind the scenes, you know, preparation-wise to put myself in a good position in the game and I think over time it really fell into place which I’m super pleased."
Again, patience is key with young players who are adjusting to the majors. Once Bo figured it out, he was one of the hottest hitters on the Guardians and in baseball to close the season. He had a slash line of .327/.471/.654 with an OPS of 1.125 in September which is a great way to head into the offseason.
Naylor isn't finished from a development standpoint though. He talked about how hard he worked to get to this point and how he'll continue to learn and get better.
"I think that I worked really hard to be able to command a staff like that. There were a lot of different situations that I was thrown in. However, I think that I if I had failed at them, they might learn from them and if I did well, I took it with me and continued to try to better myself and that’s just something that I’m looking to try to build on for the year to come."
Bo will be the everyday catcher in 2024. There's reason to believe that he's in store for a big season, but none of this would be possible without going through the adjustment period during Naylor's rookie season.
More must-reads: