Reelin' in the Fish: In mid-December, the Oakland Athletics traded for 25 (26ish) year old Mark Canha, a right handed first baseman/corner outfielder out of San Jose, California. In return, the A's sent right handed pitcher Austin House and cash to the Fish.
Canha in High School: Mark Canha played high school ball at Bellarmine College Prep. At just age 16, in his Sophomore year, Canha hit 12 home runs and batted a solid .365. In his Junior year, he had an astounding .609 OBP. Mark completed his high school career by slashing .427/.566/.844 with 11 home runs in his Senior year, and was the West Catholic Atlantic League MVP.
Canha at Cal: Mark decided to stay local for college and played baseball for the California Golden Bears. Another new Athletic, Marcus Semien, was a teammate of Canha's at Cal. Mark had minimal playing time his freshman year, but he tore it up in his Sophomore season. Canha hit .366 with 12 home runs, 43 rbis, and 130 total bases. He had 24 multi-hit games to go along with a 19 game hitting streak and 11 multi-rbi games. Canha had a less impressive, but still a solid season in his Junior year, hitting 10 home runs, driving in 69 and slashing .319/.397/.520. Some scouts believe that Mark should have completed his Senior season at Cal to refine his skills as a hitter, however, Mark signed with the Florida Marlins in 2010.
Mark in the Minors: In 2011, Mark played for the Single-A, Greensboro Grasshoppers. The team finished with a solid 79-60 record. In his first season, Canha continued to show his ability to hit for power and drive in runs by smashing 25 homers and driving in 85. He produced an excellent slash line of .276/.374/.529. He led the team in slugging percentage (.902) over two of the Marlin's newest young stars, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna, and was 2nd on the team in OBP, just behind Yelich. However, Mark had a rather strange 2012 season with the Jupiter Hammerheads Advanced-A team. He batted .293/.382/.411, but hit less than a quarter as many home runs than he did in his previous season (6). This season is a bit of a mystery. Canha had an all-time low GO/FO ratio at .82, which meant that he hit plenty more fly balls than ground balls, but there were very few fly balls that cleared the fence. However, Mark had an all-time high BB/K ratio 54/75 which led to his high OBP. His power drought caused scouts to question whether Canha was masking some sort of injury, or whether his prior season, when he hit 25 bombs, was merely a fluke. Other scouts believed that Canha was showing his versatility as a team player, for he still drove in 68 runs and hit for a high batting average. One might ask, Well, how did his next season go? Canha slowly regained his power numbers by hitting 13 home runs (most on the team), and slashing .273/.371/.449. He also led the team, and hit a career high 32 doubles for the Double-AA Jacksonville Suns, who finished the season 73-63. Mark had a very impressive 2014 campaign with the Triple-AAA New Orleans Zephyers. Mark led the team in both runs (83) and hits (141), and was 2nd on the team in doubles (28), home runs (20) and rbis (82). He also slashed .303/.384/.505 with a career high 235 TB.
More Stats!: Throughout Mark's career in the Minors, he proved to be a better power hitter against right handed pitchers, and a better average/on base hitter versus leftys. Mark had a higher BABIP, FB%, K%, BB%, AVE, OBP, SLG, and OPS against leftys since 2011. Only his isolated power numbers were better against rightys. This fits the A's philosophy.
Mark's Role?: I think the A's like Canha for a few good reasons. His versatility on the field could potentially replace the shoes left by Brandon Moss and maybe even the pop in his bat. With the addition of Canha to the 40 man roster, 6'8" Nate was sent down to Triple-AAA Sacramento. Canha (26ish) is obviously younger compared to Freiman (28) and is entering his prime, whereas Nate, who hasn't produced much on the field, is slightly past the peak age for a baseball player. Canha will likely be utilized as a platoon player along with left handed first baseman, Ike Davis. I think Canha has a solid upside who can hit for both power and average if he's put in the right situations to succeed.
Sources:
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=592192#/career/R/hitting/2014/ALL
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=2dd426da
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=70efb4cb
http://www.fishstripes.com/2012/12/20/3787216/2012-miami-marlins-prospect-review-mark-canha
http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2012/09/08/2012-miami-marlins-prospects-review-mark-canha/
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=98faf8f9
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=38b8a81d
http://minorleaguecentral.com/player?pid=592192&split=3000&
Canha in High School: Mark Canha played high school ball at Bellarmine College Prep. At just age 16, in his Sophomore year, Canha hit 12 home runs and batted a solid .365. In his Junior year, he had an astounding .609 OBP. Mark completed his high school career by slashing .427/.566/.844 with 11 home runs in his Senior year, and was the West Catholic Atlantic League MVP.
Canha at Cal: Mark decided to stay local for college and played baseball for the California Golden Bears. Another new Athletic, Marcus Semien, was a teammate of Canha's at Cal. Mark had minimal playing time his freshman year, but he tore it up in his Sophomore season. Canha hit .366 with 12 home runs, 43 rbis, and 130 total bases. He had 24 multi-hit games to go along with a 19 game hitting streak and 11 multi-rbi games. Canha had a less impressive, but still a solid season in his Junior year, hitting 10 home runs, driving in 69 and slashing .319/.397/.520. Some scouts believe that Mark should have completed his Senior season at Cal to refine his skills as a hitter, however, Mark signed with the Florida Marlins in 2010.
Mark in the Minors: In 2011, Mark played for the Single-A, Greensboro Grasshoppers. The team finished with a solid 79-60 record. In his first season, Canha continued to show his ability to hit for power and drive in runs by smashing 25 homers and driving in 85. He produced an excellent slash line of .276/.374/.529. He led the team in slugging percentage (.902) over two of the Marlin's newest young stars, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna, and was 2nd on the team in OBP, just behind Yelich. However, Mark had a rather strange 2012 season with the Jupiter Hammerheads Advanced-A team. He batted .293/.382/.411, but hit less than a quarter as many home runs than he did in his previous season (6). This season is a bit of a mystery. Canha had an all-time low GO/FO ratio at .82, which meant that he hit plenty more fly balls than ground balls, but there were very few fly balls that cleared the fence. However, Mark had an all-time high BB/K ratio 54/75 which led to his high OBP. His power drought caused scouts to question whether Canha was masking some sort of injury, or whether his prior season, when he hit 25 bombs, was merely a fluke. Other scouts believed that Canha was showing his versatility as a team player, for he still drove in 68 runs and hit for a high batting average. One might ask, Well, how did his next season go? Canha slowly regained his power numbers by hitting 13 home runs (most on the team), and slashing .273/.371/.449. He also led the team, and hit a career high 32 doubles for the Double-AA Jacksonville Suns, who finished the season 73-63. Mark had a very impressive 2014 campaign with the Triple-AAA New Orleans Zephyers. Mark led the team in both runs (83) and hits (141), and was 2nd on the team in doubles (28), home runs (20) and rbis (82). He also slashed .303/.384/.505 with a career high 235 TB.
More Stats!: Throughout Mark's career in the Minors, he proved to be a better power hitter against right handed pitchers, and a better average/on base hitter versus leftys. Mark had a higher BABIP, FB%, K%, BB%, AVE, OBP, SLG, and OPS against leftys since 2011. Only his isolated power numbers were better against rightys. This fits the A's philosophy.
Mark's Role?: I think the A's like Canha for a few good reasons. His versatility on the field could potentially replace the shoes left by Brandon Moss and maybe even the pop in his bat. With the addition of Canha to the 40 man roster, 6'8" Nate was sent down to Triple-AAA Sacramento. Canha (26ish) is obviously younger compared to Freiman (28) and is entering his prime, whereas Nate, who hasn't produced much on the field, is slightly past the peak age for a baseball player. Canha will likely be utilized as a platoon player along with left handed first baseman, Ike Davis. I think Canha has a solid upside who can hit for both power and average if he's put in the right situations to succeed.
Sources:
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=592192#/career/R/hitting/2014/ALL
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=2dd426da
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=70efb4cb
http://www.fishstripes.com/2012/12/20/3787216/2012-miami-marlins-prospect-review-mark-canha
http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2012/09/08/2012-miami-marlins-prospects-review-mark-canha/
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=98faf8f9
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=38b8a81d
http://minorleaguecentral.com/player?pid=592192&split=3000&