Recently, my wife’s grandmother passed away, so we flew out to NYC. Shoutout to grandma. 98 years old and her mind was still as sharp as a tack. Anyways, while it was a somber time, I was fascinated by all the traditions and rituals (wife’s family is Chinese). Can’t look at the coffin while it’s being lowered into the ground. Have to eat candy after seeing the body at the wake, then go buy another piece later. Do not look back after leaving the funeral home. Wash clothes in bathtub. Change into colorful clothes after cemetery. Tons of stuff. I respect them all, even if they don’t make sense to me. Everyone has their things. With that said, I kept thinking that at some point waaay back in the day, some guy stood up and said some shit (we should do this or we should do that), and everyone was, “Cool with me”. And that was passed down from generation to generation. I guess shoutout to those guys. When it comes to the spiritual realm, people are justified in doing whatever they want, because there’s no evidence. Where are the witnesses? The cell phone videos? For fantasy baseball, we gots all the stats and numbers to make even the friendliest of ghosts want to go incognito. Mark Canha of the Oakland Athletics has been the 33rd-best hitter over the past week. Bear or Bull?
For much of the season, Canha was a utility player for the Athletics. He’d pinch hit, be the designated hitter, give one of the outfielders a break, and/or play some first base. From the start of the season to the end of June, Canha accumulated 175 plate appearances and hit 11 home runs, scored 30 runs, and drove in 21. The walk rate was 14.3% while the strikeout rate was 19.4%. The batting average was .238 with a .230 BABIP and the ISO was .280. Not bad. Not great. Anyone remember those Taste Great/Less Filling commercials? I’m so pumped right now I want to run through a wall like the Kool-Aid man. Anyways, circumstances changed on June 29th, when Stephen Piscotty injured his knee while sliding into second base.
Since that injury, Canha has started 16-straight games in right field. He’s had 68 plate appearances and hit 5 homers, scored 14 runs, and driven in 7 over that stretch. The batting average has been .304, fueled by a .316 BABIP, and the walk rate (16.2%) and strikeout rate (19.1%) have both been good. Now, Piscotty is on track to begin a minor league assignment in a week or so, and could be back with the big club by the end of the month. That still gives Canha 13 games to do his thing, with the upside of playing more if Piscotty isn’t ready to return or another injury strikes the A’s. So, let’s dig into the numbers and see if Canha is worth the roster spot for the next few weeks. I will be comparing the two periods from the beginning of the season to Piscotty injury (June 29th) and the period after the Piscotty injury.
The plate discipline numbers aren’t too far off. The most sizeable differences are that Canha has been swining at fewer pitches. The batted ball numbers, though, are interesting. He’s pulling the ball more, but he’s hitting more ground balls with fewer fly balls, but has increased the line drive rate. The number that jumps out to me is the HR/FB rate: 35.7% vs 19%. Yeah, that’s not sustainable. Is it possible? Sure, but there are only three players in all of baseball with a HR/FB at 30% or higher. Canha’s career rate is 14.6%. The batting average of .310 also isn’t sustainable, as it’s being fueled by some good fortune. Canha is a career .241 hitter with a career .275 BABIP.
Canha could continue this heater for a few weeks, as maybe he’s a in a groove with the regular playing time. Eventually, though, we know who he is and will go back to being that player. Plus, Piscotty is likely to return sooner than later, so…..Poof…..and like that, he was gone.
VERDICT
