Home Grown Talent

Noah Naylor

The Indians selected catcher Noah Naylor with the No. 29 pick in the Major League Baseball amateur draft and right-handed pitcher Ethan Hankins at No. 35 overall as their first two of four picks to be made Monday night.
In Round A of the competitive balance phase (41st overall pick), the Indians added right-hander Lenny Torres Jr.
Naylor, 18, attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School in Mississauga, Ontario. Naylor was ranked as the No. 20 overall prospect according to Baseball America and was No. 27 according to MLB Pipeline’s rankings.
 

The Indians selected catcher Noah Naylor with the No. 29 pick in the Major League Baseball amateur draft and right-handed pitcher Ethan Hankins at No. 35 overall as their first two of four picks to be made Monday night.
In Round A of the competitive balance phase (41st overall pick), the Indians added right-hander Lenny Torres Jr.
Naylor, 18, attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School in Mississauga, Ontario. Naylor was ranked as the No. 20 overall prospect according to Baseball America and was No. 27 according to MLB Pipeline’s rankings.

His primary position is as a catcher with a strong arm, but he does have experience in the infield and could eventually end up at third base. Naylor, who hits left-handed, hit .421 with a home run, two doubles and six RBI in seven games with the Ontario Blue Jays, the elite 18U travel team in Ontario. He was also a member of the Canadian Junior National Team and during spring training logged at-bats against the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
Last year, Naylor competed in the 2017 High School Home Run Derby at Marlins Park. Naylor showed off his arm in the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic by nailing a couple of base-runners.
Naylor has a commitment to play at Texas A&M and his older brother, Josh, is a former first-round selection and is in the San Diego Padres’ organization.
Hankins, 18, is a 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher with a mid-to-high-90s fastball with an 80 grade (the highest on the scouting scale) according to an MLB Pipeline draft profile. He attended Forsyth Central High School in Cumming, Ga., and was the No. 21 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Hankins put himself in the conversation to be the first overall selection last summer while pitching for Team USA en route to winning the 18-and-under World Cup.
He then experienced some shoulder issues and wasn’t as sharp this spring, putting his draft status in question.
Hankins has a commitment to play for Vanderbilt. The Indians held the No. 35 pick as a revenue-sharing club that had a qualifying free agent (Carlos Santana) sign for more than $50 million.
Torres, 17, posted a 0.68 ERA (3 ER/41 IP) for the Beacon (N.Y.) High School Bulldogs this spring, striking out 85 hitters during his senior season in the Lower Hudson Valley.
Torres (6-2, 185 pounds) posted strong showings last summer at Perfect Game National, the Tournament of Stars and by pitching in the Perfect Game All-American Classic Game. He is committed to play at St. John’s University in New York City.
The Indians also hold a second-round pick (No. 67 overall).