Before fitting into the Oakland Athletics’ current pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, infielder Myles Naylor had to become artistic to follow in the footsteps of his brothers, a pair of professionals in the Cleveland Guardians organization.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 ended his first season in St. Continued restrictions in Canada in 2021 threatened to compromise her ability to exercise for her game again. Instead of letting cases derail his dreams of adjusting to a pro, he and his father, Chris, came up with a plan: temporarily move to Arizona, work out there and strike a deal with a new team for the summer exhibition circuit.
Advertising
The circle of relatives had a merit that other Canadian players did not have. They had Naylor’s older brothers, Josh and Bo, to turn to. The two had a combined four-bedroom space in Arizona. The state had already eased its pandemic restrictions, meaning services were not yet closed as if they were in a home in Canada. Moving south of the border for a few months to get Naylor’s baseball dream back on track seemed like the most prudent course of action. The plan meant leaving Naylor’s mother so she can simply continue her job as a probation officer, but the circle of relatives felt the sacrifice was worth it.
“These are the sacrifices you had to make because he needed to be there,” Chris said when reached by phone. “And I couldn’t lose another year of minimal exposure to baseball. “
The plan worked without too many hiccups. Naylor and her father moved in mid-February 2021. Naylor was able to continue her studies practically while Chris worked remotely on stock satisfaction. Both had to wake up before dawn to fulfill their obligations due to the time difference between Ontario and Arizona, but the five o’clock alarm meant Naylor finished his categories around noon. That left him the rest of the day to do weight lessons and baseball with his father.
Both encountered some difficulties. They didn’t have access to a normal gym and didn’t need to invest a few thousand dollars in new weight equipment. So they created a makeshift bar for Naylor to do fundamental exercises. They made one of a 10-pound metal bar and buckets filled with stones, one for each bar finish, and installed it in Josh’s garden and Bo’s house.
“It’s almost like an educational camp for cavemen,” Chris said. “You just figured out a way. “
Naylor and his father also had trouble locating open baseball fields for batting and paints on defense. In Ontario, the fields were freely accessible, Chris said. In Arizona, the baseball fields they found were not open to the public. the parks when they wanted to train. There was one in Avondale, Arizona, that Chris remembers being deported 10 times. They had no choice but to stay and return, risking being kicked out of wherever they chose to train.
Advertising
When June rolled around, Naylor was fit for his 16-U summer circuit. He and his father began traveling anywhere baseball took them. This usually meant leaving Arizona to participate in tournaments on either coast, trips that weighed heavily on the budget of the family circle. .
Even with the complications, the transition movement proved fruitful. Naylor has begun to carve out a place among Canada’s most sensible players for 2023 elegance. The opportunity to show off his skills at the end helped him chart a path that led to remarkable functionality at the 2022 Regional Code Games. He is now in a position to turn professional, just like his older brothers.
“It was almost like a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Chris said of his upbringing and Naylor’s education in Arizona. “(It was), that’s what we’re doing, as cost-effective as you can imagine, and it worked.
Tonight, @Athletics recruited Myles Naylor, the brother of Josh and Bo Naylor from @CleGuardians. pic. twitter. com/PPb7G6YEz8
– MLB (@MLB) July 10, 2023
One of the most notable performers in the MLB Draft Combine was Kevin Sim, the fifth-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. Sim showed great strength on the first day of training. According to MLB. com, he led the group in hard shots (15), comfortable shots (16) and hard shots plus comfortable shots (31), and had the maximum safe shots over 400 feet (four).
It’s a force that seamlessly reminded his father, former KBO star Chong so Shim. Shim, a prolific hitter who connected on 328 runs in his 15-year career at KBO. He was nicknamed “Hercules” early in his career for his power, anything he evolved through extensive education and diet.
Sim may not have the nickname, but he obviously inherited some of his father’s abilities. Moment and junior seasons. He has scored 25 home runs over the past two seasons, a 95-game stretch for the Toreros.
pic. twitter. com/Bzr98QFTD1
— Noah Bieniek (@Seventy7NB) July 10, 2023
Sim is lately a tough bat. According to Baseball America’s tracking report on Sim, he “makes gigantic runs when he connects, especially on his shooting side, and pulverizes pitches left in the middle of the plate. Sim does maximum damage instead of mistakes and is prone to swinging. “and lacking speed and quality break shots. His popularity as a pitcher and his field at the plate are marginal, and he plans to be a below-average hitter who racks up the best strikeout totals to accompany his careers.
After deciding on him in the third round with the 91st overall pick, the New York Mets gave Nolan McLean a chance to continue doing what he did at Oklahoma State: showcasing great teams as a two-way player.
Advertising
Before the draft, several analysts, including Keith Law of The Athletic, said McLean’s long career gave the impression of being on the mound. This idea came in part from McLean’s tendency to swing and miss a lot and rack up strikeouts. However, when McLean connects, the ball has a tendency to pass away; he has enormous power without cooking, which is one of the reasons the Mets remain interested in his bat. As a pitcher, McLean sits at around 95 mph and uses an electric slider/cutter that can reach 92 mph. McLean, a right-hander, would be profiled as an infielder.
“It’s anything Nolan needs to do, so we’ll let him bat,” said Steve Martone, special assistant to the Mets’ general manager of draft operations. “We are intrigued by the strength of his game. He’s been given top-notch brute strength and we’re going to see how that plays out in professional baseball.
In what appears to be a trend, McLean joins San Francisco’s first-round pick, Bryce Eldridge, and seventh-round finalists, Trevor Werner (Kansas City) and Tucker Musgrove (San Diego) as two-way players going through the first two days of this draft of the year.
“It takes the makeup of a player and the will to do it,” Mets amateur scouting director Drew Toussaint said.
The children of four former primary league players were chosen through groups in Monday’s draft. Trevor Wilson, the former Giant, saw his son Paul, a prep lefty, chosen in the third round by the Detroit Tigers. Homer Bush, who played seven seasons in MLB, had his son Homer Jr. , a Grand Canyon University outfielder, drafted through the San Diego Padres in the fourth round. the Colorado Rockies in the 5th circular. And Darron Cox, who played for the Expos in 1999, had his son, Jonah, an outfielder for Oral Roberts, go through the Athletics in the 6th Quarter.
On the first day of the draft, Jack Wilson and George Lombard had determined sons. Wilson watched his son Jacob, a Grand Canyon shortstop, take the sixth overall position through the Athletics. Lombard’s son, George Jr. , a prep shortstop, decided 26 overall through the New York Yankees.
(Photo by Naylor: Matt York/Associated Press)