Mark Canha

Expectations for Canha coming into 2020 were a bit high after his strong showing in 2019. Hidden in his numbers, however, was the fact his 2019 season was largely built upon a surprising showing against righties. Canha debuted in 2015 with a .353 wOBA against righties, but followed that up with seasons of .151, .294 and .297 until the .405 wOBA whopper of 2019. He slid back toward his career norms in 2020 with a .330 wOBA against righties but offset those losses by mashing lefties with a .423 wOBA. Canha got a late start to his big-league career, so he is already 32 years old even though he has just six seasons under his belt at the big-league level. This is his final year before free agency kicks in, so the motivation is there for one more big season, if he can avoid the injury bug and find some stabilization in his numbers against righties.

At age 30, Canha made the improbable ascension from nice complementary player to MLB regular. He added five percentage points to his walk rate while maintaining a K-rate right around 21%. Canha added two mph to his average exit velocity and hit .297/.418/.548 against same-handed pitching, up from .227/.323/.343 in 2018. His rate stats should not be expected to continue at his 2019 pace, but if he rebounds against lefties (and his track record suggests he will), that should help him navigate to a fine landing spot. By FanGraphs' WAR, Canha was the third-most valuable position player on the team. He's OF-only in some leagues (15 games at 1B) and the platoon-happy A's won't give him a ton of wiggle room to work through cold stretches. However, we could see Canha clear 500 PA for the first time if he doesn't backslide too much vs. RHP.

Canha quietly had a nice season for Oakland, finishing two wins above replacement according to FanGraphs. He muscled 39 extra-base hits in 411 plate appearances, good for an even .200 ISO. He shaved his strikeout rate by more than eight percentage points from his 2017 sample (to 21.4%) and walked at an above-average 8.3% clip. However, Canha really did nothing to shed the "platoon" label, slashing just .227/.323/.343 against right-handed pitching. Thirteen of his 17 homers came in just 149 at-bats against lefties. So while it's nice to see the year-to-year improvements with approach and plate discipline, realistically, Canha is what he is entering his age-30 season. We are seeing more and more teams platoon at more positions, but short-end platoon players are still primarily league-specific considerations. In mixed leagues, Canha is the type of player you pick up here and there to plug a gap, and hope for the best.

Since his promising 2015 campaign, Canha has disappointed, though last season's .644 OPS was an improvement on 2016's disastrous .481 mark. To be fair, Canha was battling back issues throughout the entire 2016 campaign. Last season, he just couldn't get it in gear. The Athletics love their platoon pieces, but back in 2015, the righty swinger was more effective versus same-side pitching and in limited playing time since, he's been equally ineffective versus all pitchers. Canha's primary issues the past two seasons were a high strikeout rate and low walk rate, both contrary to what he exhibited while progressing through Oakland's system. Coming off surgery to remove a cyst from his wrist, Canha should be healthy this spring. There is some pop in his bat, but he's going to need to hit in exhibition play to make the Opening Day roster since defensively, he's limited to first base and corner outfield.

A year after being a Rule 5 surprise for the Athletics, Canha encountered his fair share of problems in 2016. Things got off to a rocky start, as a back issue delayed his spring training debut, and his performance was lackluster at best once he was able to return. This led to him being placed on the short side of a platoon with Yonder Alonso at first base, where the 27-year-old only mustered a .122/.140/.341 slash line. Canha was then forced to miss the remainder of the season after his back problems flared up and a new hip injury appeared which required surgery. His excellent eye at the plate and solid power should work in his favor as he tries to work his way back into the fold for playing time next season, but his health issues and high strikeout rates could keep him from re-emerging now that Oakland's top prospects are knocking at the door of the major leagues and Alonso is back for another season.

Canha was taken by the A's in the Rule 5 draft and surprised everyone with a productive campaign, hitting 16 bombs with 70 RBI over 441 at-bats. Canha spent much of the first four months splitting time in the outfield and first base, but really broke out with full-time at-bats over the final two months. After Aug. 1, Canha hit .280 and slugged .474 over his 211 at-bats. His strong finish to the season should put him in the mix for nearly full-time at-bats in 2016, possibly cycling between first base, outfield and DH. He could be a sneaky late pick for those looking for power in deeper leagues.

Canha reached Triple-A New Orleans in 2014, his fifth season in the Marlins' organization since being selected in the seventh round of the 2010 draft. He continued to show steady improvement in his age-25 season, posting career-best .303/.384/.505 over 127 games while spending time at first base, third base and left field. Canha has displayed a solid eye at the dish, posting a walk rate over 10% in each of his five professional seasons while also exhibiting decent pop with 68 career home runs over 2,054 minor league at-bats. Acquired by the A's after the Rockies selected him in the Rule 5 draft, Canha will look to secure a bench role in Oakland during spring training. If he sticks, it's reasonable to think that Canha might end up on the small side of a platoon at the big league level to begin 2015.