Sunday, January 13, 2019

DrB's 2019 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #15 Alexander Canario

Alexander Canario, OF.  DOB:  5/7/2000.  B-R, T-R.  6'1", 165 lbs.  International FA 2016.

2017 DSL:  .294/.391/.464, 17 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 18 SB, 12 BB%, 14.6 K%, 274 PA.
2018 AZL:  .250/.357/.403, 5 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 8 SB, 13 BB%, 24.5 K%, 208 PA.

Alexander Canario has drawn some national attention as one of the more tooled up prospects in the Giants system.  He also shows an ability to draw a walk which is relatively rare for a kid his age, especially one from the DSL.  He's still got some physical projectability. Scouting reports give him "elite" bat speed but note his rawness as a player.

He's a bit higher on some lists.  Maybe my expectations for him for the AZL were a bit unreasonable. He continued to draw walks.  He hit a few HR's.  The jump from the DSL to AZL is a big one and many prospects have a bigger drop-off.  I just want to see a bit more of the hit tool on display before I move him up into my top 10.  The other question is where do the Giants send him in 2019?  I'm not convinced he is ready to face the rigors of Augusta and the SAL, so I would favor keeping him in extended spring training and then to Salem-Keizer to face older competition in a more hitter-friendly and less physically taxing environment.  On the other hand maybe what he needs is more real-game PA's which would favor starting him in Augusta and then move to S-K if he struggles, which he likely will.  Ceiling is a 20/20 offensive player who can cover CF, but there's still a lot of risk here.

2 comments:

  1. Is there any "psychological" risk (what a stupid question!) to beating him up in Augusta that might carry over to S-K and actually retard his development?
    He came from the DR to AZ at 18, then Augusta GA while still 18, then off to Oregon if he flounders.
    Could cut both ways.

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    1. I don't think it's a stupid question as I think sometimes that happens if a guy is placed in the wrong league at the wrong time and it can retard his development. I think Dr. B makes a good point though that Canario might be better off staying in the AZL since he didn't necessarily rake last year. Plus like you said he's only 18 and can afford to take the more deliberate route.

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