Washington Nationals: Gage Canning off to a great start in his pro career
Taken in the fifth round of the MLB Draft, outfielder Gage Canning is already turning some heads within the Washington Nationals organization.
It was around two months ago when the Washington Nationals took Gage Canning in the MLB Draft. Now the fifth round pick already seems to be justifying that selection.
Canning was initially sent to the Auburn Doubledays to start off his pro career, where he hit the ground running. In just 14 games with the Doubledays, he hit .315 with three triples, two home runs, and an impressive .965 OPS.
Obviously, with numbers like that and the experience of playing college ball, it didn’t take long to get the promotion to Single-A. Although the stats don’t show it so far, the promise is still there with the Hagerstown Suns.
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The Arizona State product is hitting just .207 for the Suns, but that’s fuelled by a minuscule .241 BABIP, which is bound to change. The power hasn’t gone anywhere despite the step up though, with four homers in his 23 games at that level.
He’s also finally having some hits fall his way of late, with a .289 average over his last 10 games, and has that OPS above .900 again. The main reason he maintains such a high OPS is the extra base ability he possesses by barrelling balls up and hitting them into gaps.
When you watch the tape on Canning, he has such quick hands in his swing and uses this to drill any pitch that comes his way. Whether that pitch is a breaking pitch or a well-located fastball, he always has a chance to get to it. This will serve him well as he moves up the levels, as he won’t be easily defeated by the better breaking pitches in the higher levels.
Although the initial stance is different, with Canning a little lower, there’s a bit of an Adam Eaton type profile developing. Eaton’s swing can be a little longer sometimes, but he’s able to vary it depending on pitch selection, just like Canning.
They also seem to do everything really well on the field, utilizing all of their tools, while not having one clear standout tool. They both are able to hit for a good average, have decent pop and play good outfield defense. Scouts have also raved about Canning’s Baseball IQ, with MLB.com’s scout report calling him someone “who can do the little things to help a team win”.
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The Washington Nationals front office will be keeping a close eye on Gage Canning as he continues to progress through the farm system. But it’s safe to say that’s done a great job so far.