San Diego

Padres Farmhand Wins Award

Josh Naylor slugs his way to Texas League Player of the Week honor

When the Padres signed first baseman Eric Hosmer, it put the future of one of their top prospects in limbo. Josh Naylor seems to be taking it pretty well.

Naylor, a highly-regarded first baseman in the San Diego system, is a 20-year-old playing for Double-A San Antonio and the youngster is raking. On Friday Naylor was named the Texas League Player of the Week after hitting .472 with a double, six home runs, 14 RBI and 10 runs scored.

During his hot streak Naylor led every level of Minor League Baseball in home runs and total bases and tied for the most hits, and he’s doing it while playing in a division well above guys his age usually play.

The website RosterResource.com does a power ranking of the best players in the minor leagues and Friday’s list had Naylor sitting at No. 1, meaning right now β€” at this moment β€” at least one statistical baseball entity thinks the Padres have the best player in all of minor league baseball.

Naylor is currently ranked as the 14th-best prospect in the Friars system. The Missions (8-5) are tied for the best record in the Texas League.

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