Diamondbacks' Josh Naylor Speaks on Hitting Results, Defense and More

Arizona Diamondbacks new first baseman Josh Naylor has been on fire at the plate in the Cactus League so far, and that's a new feeling for him.

The lefty slugger was acquired from the Guardians in the offseason in a trade that sent Slade Cecconi to Cleveland, in the wake of former franchise first baseman Christian Walker's departure.

The numbers look good for Naylor this spring. Over 33 plate appearances, he's slashing .483/.515/.621 with a 1.136 OPS, with four doubles, five RBI and three walks against only a single strikeout.

In Tuesday's game against the Kansas City Royals, Naylor was 2-for-3, with a pair of base hits and two runs knocked in.

Speaking to reporters postgame, including Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers, Naylor said his scorching Cactus League numbers are the opposite of normal, and that he doesn't chase results in Spring.

"I'm honestly pretty bad in spring," Naylor said with a bit of a laugh. Not that I want to be, obviously, but I don't really search for results in spring training.

"Honestly, I search for feels, search for just a good at-bats, quality at bats. If I get a hit, cool. If I don't, it's not the end of the world. Stats don't matter. Winning or losing doesn't really matter here. It's just about getting your reps in, feeling those in-season feelings, get them back," Naylor said.

Naylor said that Spring Training provides an opportunity to prepare for in-game scenarios that can arise in the regular season. Though perhaps obvious, he doesn't look at those results as an indication of what he may be able to do come regular season time.

"You get put in situations that you're going to see in the season or go through the season, so you may fail here, but you're going to fail here to succeed in the season. It's a big hit-or-miss in spring training. I don't really care for stats at all here," he said.

And the swing clearly does feel good for the lefty so far. He's made excellent solid contact and hit for high average over what is slowly starting to become less and less "small" of a sample size. Naylor credited the coaching staff for his success.

"I continue to work every day with the guys here. The hitting staff is incredible. I'm very thankful and blessed to have the opportunity to work with them. ... I just try to take it one day at a time and swing at good pitches. And when you do that, you have good results," Naylor said.

But one stat from Tueday's game might stand out more than the others. Naylor, who has a larger frame, isn't known for his speed on the bases, but picked up a stolen base — his second — off Royals' catcher Luke Maile.

Naylor gave a specific, and entertainingly light-hearted answer when asked about the steal.

"I don't really like to steal in the spring, but Maile's one of my good friends. He was catching on the other side. And we have this thing every spring where if he's catching, I have to steal, and he's thrown me out the last two years. So this year I made sure I worked on my speed a little bit more and get that one bag off him.

"It's the first time I got him, yeah. He's going to get a nice long text from me that he's a terrible arm," said Naylor. "No, I'm just kidding, I love him, he's incredible. ... I can say a million good things about that guy."

But while Naylor's offense might look elite at his current pace, one question mark around the big slugger is his defense. Without Walker's consistent Gold Glove defense at first, the D-backs are in danger of seeing a dip in their run prevention.

Naylor said he's working hard to find a level of comfort with his fellow infielders, so he can be best prepared to field anything that may come his way from his teammates.

"I'm still getting comfortable with everyone. We have an incredibly hardworking group here from the coaching staff to the players. It's been really fun to work with everyone and to understand their game, where and when they can make plays, arm strengths around the field.

"When they skip balls across the field, you know, is it backspin? Is it short-hop? I'm still getting to learn these things and very blessed to have played with this infield," Naylor said.

"He's very agile at first base," manager Torey Lovullo said of Naylor postgame. "He sees the ball. He's able to pick it. That's a gift. You don't just run into that and be successful at it. The timing is good. He's got good footwork around there."

While it's clearly a no-brainer to want to play solid defense, Naylor gave a selfless reason to want to understand his teammates' fielding quirks and field to the best of his ability.

"[I'm] working hard to develop a good relationship with everyone. I try to protect the infielders. I want to do a good job of being the best at that. Keep the ball in the infield, and scoop it if I can to win them their Gold Gloves.

"Their Gold Gloves are just as important to me, and hopefully I can win one one day. But I try to protect them any way I can to eliminate them from getting an error," Naylor said.