This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider.
You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $79.95
using your PayPal account or major credit card. (Zelle users, please email me for details.)
--
The skills Naylor does have, though, give him a high floor for the next few seasons. He combines contact, plate discipline. and power in a way that’s hard to find. Since 2023, among 229 hitters with at least 1000 PA, Naylor is 22nd in strikeout rate, 39th in SLG, and 128th in walk rate. That last figure, 8%, doesn’t jump out at you, but it’s not bad for a player who puts the bat on the ball as much as Naylor does. Naylor chases a lot -- 19th in this group -- but is above average at making contact on those chases and gets above-average results when he hits the ball (.331 wOBA on those swings). Naylor, on the page...come to think of it, on the field...looks like Vladito Lite in every way.
