Miami Marlins 'reversed positions' by drafting Josh Naylor

After drafting the power house high school hurler Tyler Kolek in 2014, the Marlins reversed positions in this year’s MLB First-Year players draft choosing a power house bat - the 59^th overall prospect from Canada Josh Naylor with their 12^th overall pick in the 1^st round.  Standing at 6’1" 225lbs. out of St. Joan of Arc Catholic HS, it will be the Naylor’s left sided thunderous bat and smooth hands through the impact zone that will carry him up to the big leagues. He is a below-average defender that will land him a home at first base or right field in the big leagues, but the Marlins front office must have liked his smash power at the plate enough to take him at what MLB Networks announcer Harold Baines called a "surprise" pick by the Marlins.

He currently compares to the likes of Texas Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder, but at the age of 17 years old, Naylor still has time to fill out his youthful frame and refine his defensive skill sets in the minor leagues. With arm velocity clocked at 95 MPHs, there is a chance we could also see Naylor tossing off the bump at some point as a left handed reliever in his minor league career. He is a developmental draft pick by the Marlins that will allow them to regrow their stock at first base, at an aging part of their depth chart with 2014 late round draftees Eric Fischer and Austen Smith being the most recent to fill the void.

With everything said, though, Josh Naylor is still committed to attend Texas Tech in the fall. But after being drafted by the Marlins 12^th overall, I like the Marlins chances of signing Naylor under the recommended slot value of $3,051,800, barring any sort of post draft physical hiccups.

MLB Debut: 2018

Ceiling: 3-Hole Hitter, first base regular (Mo Vaughn)

Floor: Platoon power off the bench (Garrett Jones)

Tools: Arm: 6/8 Contact: 5/8 Power: 7/8 Run: 3/8 Defense: 4/8

Notables:

Hit a 444’ HR at Marlins Park in the 8^th Annual POWER SHOWCASE

IBAF 18U World Championships Silver Medalist – Canadian Junior National Team

2013 Mickey Mantle World Series Championship (McKinney TX) "Big Stick" Award Winner (Best Hitter in the Tournament)