Prospect Naylor makes debut in native Canada

TORONTO -- The San Diego Padres expanded their Canadian contingent just in time for Friday’s series opener in Toronto, promoting their No. 9 prospect, Josh Naylor, to the roster for his Major League debut.

The power-hitting Naylor is from nearby Mississauga, Ontario, so he expected a large group of friends and family to be in attendance at Rogers Centre this weekend. In his debut, manager Andy Green had Naylor batting sixth as the DH.

“I know when the national anthem plays, it’s going to hit me then,” Naylor said prior to the game, “and I’ll just take it from there. I’ll try to relax and try to stay as calm as I am now.”

Naylor, who received a warm welcome when he entered the batter's box for his first at-bat, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the Padres' 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Since coming over to the Padres from Miami in the 2016 Andrew Cashner trade, Naylor’s game has developed on both sides of the ball. He’s built for power, which he showed with 10 home runs and a .916 OPS over 45 games in Triple-A El Paso prior to his promotion. He also has embraced the new challenge of playing the outfield after spending all of his time at first base in Miami.

That’s allowed Naylor to stand out in a stacked Padres farm system and given him a clearer path to the big leagues, which he’s now taken.

“We’re excited to have him. He’s been a big bat in our organization for a while now since we acquired him,” Green said. “He’s going to hit balls hard and has a combination of patience and power throughout his Minor League career. He’s going to get some opportunities.”

In a corresponding roster move, the Padres placed outfielder Alex Dickerson on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right wrist, retroactive to May 20, and transferred LHP Aaron Loup to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.

Naylor joins fellow Canadian Cal Quantrill, who ranks just behind him on MLB Pipeline’s system rankings as the organization’s No. 10 prospect. Quantrill will make his first start in Toronto on Saturday on the same field that his father, Paul Quantrill, called home for six seasons with the Blue Jays.

“He’s earned it. He’s a very good baseball player. The guy rakes,” Quantrill said prior to Friday’s opener. “I think that he’s a presence in that lineup and I can tell you for certain that their pitchers aren’t happy about it.”

Quantrill was able to turn this trip into a true homecoming of his own. The Padres had an off-day on Thursday, so Quantrill convinced his sister to come pick him up for a day at home in Port Hope, which is just over 60 miles from Toronto. He spent the day with family, saw his dog, grabbed a bite to eat with some old friends and squeezed in an unexpected game of catch with his father.

“It was wild. His eyes aren’t as good as they used to be,” Quantrill said with laugh. “So we weren’t exactly letting it fly. We were out there until the black flies drove us in. It was just awesome. It’s one of those experiences that you kind of took for granted when you were young.”