July 31, 2023

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

As the youngest Naylor sibling, Myles lost. A lot.

Whether it was a pickup basketball game in their driveway growing up in Mississauga, or an intense video game match against his two older brothers, failure was familiar.

And winning? Uncommon.

Being younger than Josh (eight years) and Bo (five years) was not a free pass to first, inside or outside their childhood home.

“They were definitely not taking it easy or have that ‘let him win’ type of mindset,” Naylor said.

They went hard on him, from sports to video game matches.

Those losses early on didn’t deter him. Instead, it fueled a competitive fire in him, a flame that didn’t go out no matter what adversity he faced on the diamond. He knew what it felt like to lose - thanks to his two older brothers – and he didn’t like it.

Bring it on.

That competitiveness that started in his driveway is what draws Naylor, now 18, to the game, and also what has helped propel him to the start of his professional career. He was the first Canadian selected in the draft this year, and the 39th pick overall, taken by the Oakland Athletics and scout Matt Higginson (Grimsby, Ont.). The third baseman joins his two brothers in pro ball who both play for the Cleveland Guardians.

In fact, they had just watched his brothers play and were all gathered at the condo in Cleveland to hear the news on draft night, he said - both brothers and their girlfriends, his mom, grandma and aunt.

It was a shock to him, and didn’t fully register until at least a couple of hours later, when he was alone on his phone, he said.

It’s been a long journey, a journey where people will see the end destination but not all the hard work put in along the way.

There have been many sacrifices made from both him and his family.

“There was a lot of traveling, there was a lot of money spent, there were a lot of rental cars a lot of flights,” said his dad, Chris Naylor. “But we were all on board to, you know, basically turn over every stone we could to make his opportunity as successful as it could be.”

COVID presented a new set of challenges to Naylor, then 15. In 2020, the facility he would’ve used to train was shut down, and everything was put on pause, so he trained in the garage instead. And in February of 2021, he and his dad boarded a plane to Arizona so he could continue to get the practice he needed to progress and excel at higher levels.

When they could, Josh and Bo joined their younger brother, helping him with hitting and infield drills. But, other than that, he was alone, training against himself for 2 1/2 months. It was monotonous - the same hitting, throwing, taking grounders, running and working out every day to continue to grow in the right direction.

At one point they were kicked off the field about 10 times, and went to practice on a soccer field instead, his dad said. It didn’t matter where they were - from his garage to a soccer field in Arizona, he made sure to put in the work.

The talent was there from a young age, but it's that hard work and sacrifices he made that have been the game changer.

In high school, he missed out on a lot of the social aspect - parties, get togethers with friends - in classroom activities. He would be there for about a week, then gone for baseball for maybe two, 2 1/2 weeks, then back for a week.

The work never stopped. And it still hasn’t. Post-draft, it’s just as intense as ever. With two successful brothers in pro ball, the expectations for the teen are high.

“You're always going to have that thought in the back of your head, like I've got two brothers in majors,” he said. “I want to make it to where they are, and if I don't, maybe people will think this about me or that about me.”

It’s pressure that he’s better learned to deal with as he’s matured. They may be siblings, but they’re three unique people off the field and three uniquely skilled athletes on it, he said.

“I think over time I’ve learned that I’m a great player and I'm not them, and I can do my own stuff and make my own impact on the field,” he said.

Making his own impact - he certainly is.

But when the off season comes around, he’ll likely join his brothers as a unit, from youngest to oldest, helping each other improve on the Naylor craft that is baseball.

“I’m looking forward to that,” he said.