What is wrong with Mark Canha?
The Oakland Athletics made sure they acquired him during the winter meetings. Then he made the opening day roster out of spring training, ensuring he’d remain with the A’s for at least a little while. He made quite an impression with a hot March and April, swatting two home runs, driving in 10 runs, swiping a couple bases, and posting a triple-slash line of .279/ .329/ .412.
In May it was a different story. If he wasn’t hitting home runs he wasn’t hitting. Four of his six home runs came in May but he batted just .169.
Why the sudden change?
His BABIP in March and April was .347. Although that number isn’t a ridiculous mark, his career high came in 2014 in the hitter-friendly PCL and was .356. Before that his next best was .339 at high-A. A league average BABIP is right around the .300 mark so regression was expected.
May 2, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Mark Canha (20) bats against the Texas Rangers during the game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers defeated the Athletics 8-7. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
In May his strikeout rate dropped, his walk rate increased and he made more medium to hard contact than the previous month-plus. So what really is the problem?
I believe it is the increased platoon usage. He began facing lefties almost exclusively, and far more often than righties. This is what I believe the true cause of his struggles to be. I trust the folks in the Oakland front office know what they’re doing, much more than I do. There must be something they know that we don’t, or else they would not continue to bat Canha against left-handed pitchers.
The numbers say Canha can’t hit lefties, at least not major league lefties. His minor league numbers show no true platoon split. His line vs LHP is very similar to his line vs. RHP. At the major league level it is a much different story.
In 96 plate appearances against righties Canha’s triple-slash line is .291/ .344/ .535 with a .244 ISO, .306 BABIP, and .376 wOBA.
In 54 PAs against lefties (roughly half as many as vs. RHP) his line is .106/ .222/ .128 with a .021 ISO, .147 BABIP, and .178.
Those are two small sample sizes, maybe too small to even make a judgment about where Canha’s strength is. The folks in the Oakland front office know what they are doing, but in this case is it really better to keep running Canha out there against lefties and ignore the success he’s had against righties?
He has some defensive versatility and plenty of raw power, but if he keeps being misused there is a chance the A’s miss on Canha and he never reaches his potential.