29. Noah Naylor, C, St. Joan of Arc Catholic SS (Mississauga, Ont.), Cleveland Indians
A Texas A&M signee, Naylor is primarily a catcher but has experience in the infield, with third base possibly being an eventual landing spot. The left-handed hitter 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 last summer and was also a member of the Canadian Junior National Team. He competed in the 2017 High School Home Run Derby at Marlins Park.
“We’re excited about Noah, that he can really hit, controls the strike zone, really good hand-eye [coordination], can drive the ball to all fields,” Indians director of amateur scouting Scott Barnsby told the Akron Beacon Journal after the draft. “There’s power there. Defensively, he’s a stay-behind-the-plate catcher. Arm strength, and he’s actually athletic enough to move around the field and have some defensive versatility as well. … Obviously, how many days behind the plate, we’re not sure. But we’ll continue to get him some at-bats, maybe move him around the field.”
MLB.com estimates that the No. 29 pick is worth $2,332,700.