Bo Naylor stays hot in September: can he push Guardians to MLB Playoffs?

Once upon a time, Cleveland baseball fans were clamoring for a young catching prospect to make his major league debut. His brother Josh had become a fan favorite and the chatter around town was non-stop about the pure talent and power the young backstop possessed. Fans were rightfully excited, as Cleveland hadn't had a true cornerstone catcher in nearly half a decade since the days of the peak Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez era.

He was a "September call-up" in 2022, but it wasn't until halfway through 2023 when Bo Naylor started to get regular playing time for the Guardians. Splitting duties behind the plate, Naylor had an average rookie season, finishing with a .237/.470/.809 triple slash-line. Disappointing for sure, especially given the hype, but with an .800+ OPS as a rookie, Guardians fans felt as though they had something to build on.

And then, as it does for so many former top prospects it all just started to fall apart. He lost 200 points off his OPS, there was no signs of any of the power numbers fans had expected, he was swinging and missing at seemingly everything and he wasn't getting on base at all. Naylor actually had fewer walks in his 2024 full season than he did in 2023, and to make matters worse he didn't look great behind the dish either. He was catching would be base stealers just 20 percent of the time (for reference the major league average is around 30 percent) and he was starting to look like a bust.

Things got even less inspiring this year as Naylor struggled to a .171 batting average and an OPS of just above .600 through the first half of the season. It didn't help either that the Guardians were frustratingly inconsistent and looking for offensive help from anyone not named Jose Ramirez. It seemed like the Naylor story would just be another in the long list of MLB players who just couldn't crack it.

And then, the calendar turned to September, and the Guardians found themselves red hot and attempting to overtake the Detroit Tigers to win the AL Central.

And who started to be in the middle of it all? Bo Naylor.

In 13 games so far in September, Naylor is slashing .326/.630/.997 blasting three homers and driving in 13 RBI. While simultaneously handling a pitching staff that is having perhaps the best month as a group in the history of the game. Cleveland has had a starting pitcher go at least five innings and allow two earned runs or less for 16 consecutive starts a franchise record.

Heading into Saturday's double header the statline for the starters in the previous three games where Naylor was handling the catching duties: 27 IP, 2 ER, 39K, thats good enough for a collective 0.67 ERA the stuff of video games. Meanwhile at the plate he had 5 hits and 8 RBI. Those numbers only improved during Game 1 of the doubleheader Saturday where Guardians pitching added another 9 scoreless frames and Naylor hit two homers.

As we head down the home stretch and the Guardians continue to battle it out for a playoff spot there may be no offensive player carrying them as much as Naylor, and if they do miraculously win the division Naylor's September will be the stuff of Cleveland legends for years to come. What's more exciting though, is that he may be turning into the franchise catcher everyone thought he was right before our very eyes.