Marlins make Naylor the highest Canadian position player ever selected with 12th overall pick

by Dan Toman
Steve Mitchell / US PRESSWIRE

Look back at every pick from Day 1 of the MLB Draft with theScore's MLB Draft Tracker, which includes trades and rumors from around the league.

The Miami Marlins traveled north of the border Monday for a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays. They'll leave Canada later this week with the top prospect in the country.

The Marlins shocked experts and prognosticators alike with the most surprising first-round selection of the 2015 MLB Draft, making high school first baseman Josh Naylor the highest Canadian position player ever taken by securing him with the 12th overall pick.

"So honored and proud to be selected 12th overall to the Miami Marlins," Naylor tweeted after the announcement.

The hulking 6-foot-1, 225-pound power-hitter possesses tremendous raw strength, which grades 65 on the power scale according to MLB.com, though his lack of speed and defensive abilities had him considered as an unlikely first-round selection.

Canadian national head coach Greg Hamilton spoke with MLB.com about Naylor's projectability last fall:

I think with a lot of young high school hitters that have power or plus-power potential, one of the greatest concerns you always have is whether they will get to the power enough. Will they make enough contact for that to come into play as they move up? He gets to his power consistently because he doesn't have trouble making contact. His hands are great and he sees the ball really well. It's a tool that I think that will carry all the way through.

The 17-year-old product out of Mississauga, Ont. is considered an advanced hitter for his age with good hands and simple mechanics. Just moments after Naylor's selection, Marlins scouting director Stan Meek offered a lofty pro comparison.

"There's some Prince Fielder in this guy," Meek told Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

The Digest

Complete guide for the 2015 MLB Draft

by theScore staff
Ron Antonelli / Major League Baseball / Getty

Day 1 of the 2015 MLB Draft is complete and theScore had you covered with all the picks from the first round.

Related: MLB Draft Tracker from Day 1 with all picks from the first two rounds

2015 first round selections

Pick No. Team Selection
1 ARI SS Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt)
2 HOU* SS Alex Bregman (LSU)
3 COL SS Brendan Rodgers (Lake Mary HS - FLA)
4 TEX RHP Dillon Tate (UC Santa Barbara)
5 HOU OF Kyle Tucker (Plant HS - Tampa)
6 MIN LHP Tyler Jay (Illinois)
7 BOS OF Andrew Benintendi (Arkansas)
8 CWS RHP Carson Fulmer (Vanderbilt)
9 CHC OF Ian Happ (Cincinnati)
10 PHI SS Cornelius Randolph (Griffin HS - GA)
11 CIN C Tyler Stephenson (Kennesaw Mountain HS - GA)
12 MIA 1B Josh Naylor (St. Joan of Arc Catholic HS - Mississauga - ON)
13 TB OF Garrett Whitley (Niskayuna HS - NY)
14 ATL LHP Kolby Allard (San Clemente HS - California)
15 MIL OF Trenton Clark (Richland HS - North Richland Hills - TX)
16 NYY RHP James Kaprielian (UCLA)
17 CLE LHP Brady Aiken (IMG Academy)
18 SF RHP Phil Bickford (Southern Nevada)
19 PIT SS Kevin Newman (Arizona)
20 OAK SS Richie Martin (Florida)
21 KC RHP Ashe Russell (Cathedral Catholic HS - Indianapolis)
22 DET RHP Beau Burrows (Weatherford HS - TX)
23 STL OF Nick Plummer (Brother Rice HS - MI)
24 LAD RHP Walker Buehler (Vanderbilt)
25 BAL OF D.J. Stewart (Florida State)
26 LAA C Taylor Ward (Fresno State - CA)

Related: On day of Correa's debut, Astros beef up farm system with trio of standout draft picks

*Compensation for not signing 2014 No. 1 overall pick Brady Aiken.

Compensation Picks Team Selection
27 COL RHP Mike Nikorak (Stroudsburg HS - PA)
28 ATL RHP Mike Soroka (Bishop Carroll HS - Calgary - AB)
29 TOR RHP Jon Harris (Missouri State)
30 NYY SS Kyle Holder (San Diego)
31 SF 1B Chris Shaw (Boston College)
32 PIT 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes (Concordia Lutheran HS - TX)
33 KC RHP Nolan Watson (Lawrence North HS - IN)
34 DET OF Christin Stewart (Tennessee)
35 LAD RHP Kyle Funkhouser (Louisville)
36 BAL SS Ryan Mountcastle (Hagerty HS - FL)
Competitive Balance A Team Selection
37 HOU (via trade with MIA) OF Daz Cameron (Eagle's Landing Christian Academy - GA)
38 COL 3B Tyler Nevin (Poway HS - CA)
39 STL RHP Jake Woodford (H.B. Plant HS - FL)
40 MIL LHP Nathan Kirby (Virginia)
41 ATL (via trade with SD) 3B Austin Riley (DeSoto Central HS - MS)
42 CLE RHP Triston McKenzie (Royal Palm Beach HS - FL)

Further Reading

ESPN's Keith Law (Insider Only) has more on the Diamondbacks' selection of Dansby Swanson first overall.

Finally, we have an answer. After a spring of aggressive scouting by Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart and incessant discussion about potential money-saving moves, the Diamondbacks select Swanson with the first overall pick. Swanson represents the best combination of positional certainty and offensive impact among the shortstops at the top of the draft. He's going to get on base, swipe some bags and hit for power while playing solid defense at shortstop despite an average arm. He should move quickly, though don't be surprised if he swings and misses a bit.

Law also has more on the Rockies selection of shortstop Brendan Rodgers, who was his top player on the board.

The Rockies grab the top player on our board. Described by some, including our own Keith Law, as "Diet Tulo," Rodgers projects to stay at shortstop and hit for both average and power. He has the quickest wrists in the draft and wowed onlookers when he squared up a Justin Hooper 97 mph fastball and drove it to the warning track at a showcase at Petco Park last summer. He's old for the class but has done nothing but hit against the very best of his peers for several years. His detractors are concerned about his body filling out, forcing a move to third base, where he might not have enough power to profile as an impact regular. Colorado has picks at 27, 38 and 44 so they're not done, but they've already done well here.

Among the more surprising selections on Day 1 was Josh Naylor, a Canadian high-schooler selected 12th overall by the Marlins. Though he's lauded for his power and hitting ability, Naylor has a hefty build and might wind up a DH in professional baseball, according to Law:

It's first-round power for sure, and scouting director Stan Meek has always preferred players with size, but between the possible lack of a position and the work Naylor will have to do to stay in shape, there's a lot of risk here.

Teddy Cahill of Baseball America, meanwhile, offered some insight into the Indians' decision to take left-hander Brady Aiken with the 17th pick. Selected first overall in last year's draft, Aiken underwent Tommy John surgery in March, less than one year after contract negotiations with the Astros famously collapsed over concerns about his elbow.

Indians scouting director Brad Grant praised the Indians scouts for their work evaluating Aiken over the last two years. He declined to comment on the specifics of Aiken’s medical issues, saying only that the Indians did their due diligence and felt good about selecting him.

Grant said the Indians also liked Aiken’s intangibles.

"That’s one of the things that really stands out with Brady is his character and work ethic and his commitment to getting better," Grant said. "That’s something that definitely stood out in terms of his character and his willingness to return from here."

The Pirates earned praise from numerous talent evaluators for their efforts on Day 1, including Christopher Crawford of Baseball Prospectus, who raved about the club's selection of Arizona shortstop Kevin Newman at No. 19.

If Cleveland is the best drafting team in the American League, Pittsburgh would be my choice for best drafting team in the NL, and this was another great pick. Newman is a lock to stick at shortstop, and as seen in his back-to-back batting titles, he has a very advanced hit-tool—possibly even plus-plus. The power is a 30 right now on the 20-80 scale, but some adjustments with the lower half could see it tick up a grade. I thought he was a top-10 talent, and getting him at 19 is a fantastic result for the Pirates.

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