Miami's Naylor tees off twice for first time

Josh Naylor had been trying hard to work his way out of a 2-for-18 slump. He did so Monday with his first professional multi-homer game.

Miami's No. 2 prospect plated three runs as Class A Greensboro defeated Delmarva, 9-2, at NewBridge Bank Ballpark. 

Knowing that the worst thing for a struggling ballplayer is try to do too much, Naylor did some extra pregame preparation. 

"If I know I'm not hitting too well, it means I'm probably trying a little too hard," said the youngest player on the Grasshoppers roster. "So before the game I went in for early work to get my mind right and stay simple at the plate and work with a pitch I can hit."

After flying out and grounding out in his first two at-bats, Naylor jumped on the first pitch he saw from Shorebirds starter Francisco Jimenez (3-4) and lofted it over the wall in right-center field for a two-run homer.

"I was just trying to see a pitch up in the zone," Naylor said. "I felt like [Jimenez] was going to challenge me, because that's what he's done when I've faced him before, so I felt pretty confident up there. He gave me a pitch I could hit and I did with it what I could."

Entering his next at-bat in the seventh and the left-handed hitter said he had a feeling that Delmarva reliever Jay Flaa had noticed what happened when he got a fastball in his previous time at the plate.

"In my second at-bat, he threw me a first-pitch curveball," Naylor said. "I kind of thought it was going to come again because I wasn't going to see another fastball. He kind of hung it a little bit and I was able to get a good piece of it."

Just 18 years old, the first baseman's been relishing the opportunity to reach full-season ball despite his youth.

"I don't think about the age a lot, but I love the challenge of playing against and with older players," Naylor said. "I feel I'm gaining knowledge and experience every day and learning new things. I'm thankful to the Marlins for letting me play with the Grasshoppers this year. It's amazing to play with players from all different cultures who speak all different languages. I'm having fun with it and love meeting new people from different backgrounds."

When he was 12, the Mississauga, Ontario native made a rare decision for many Canadian youngsters -- he stopped playing hockey to pursue a career in baseball. Even though he traded in his blades for spikes, he didn't leave everything he learned on the ice behind. 

"Canada is all about hard work and that kind of grind-it-out, play-even-if-you're-hurt hockey mentality," Naylor said. "I try to bring that with me and keep things simple at the plate."

Maxx Tissenbaum got the Grasshoppers on the board in the first with a grand slam to right-center.

No. 19 Marlins prospect Cody Poteet (2-4) allowed three hits and three walks over six scoreless innings for Greensboro.