Alexander Canario, OF
DOB: May 7, 2000
BATS: R / THROWS: R
ACQUIRED: International Signing, July 2, 2016
LAST LEVEL: Short-A
VOLATILITY: High
GiantFutures Ranks: #3 Corner Outfielder
Performance: In a 2019 that had a lot of impressive performances, Alexander Canario had one of the biggest. He started the Arizona Rookie League hitting seven home runs in ten games, slugging a ridiculous 1.000 and forcing an immediate call-up to Salem-Keizer, where he had a more reasonable (and still impressive) .301/.365/539 slash line with 17 doubles, a triple and nine home runs in 49 games.
Of course, there was one other impressive number: 71 strikeouts in 49 games with the Volcanoes, a crazy 32.4% strikeout rate. The strikeouts are the biggest concern for Canario, although he was certainly very effective through them in 2019.
Canario did spend the summer with the Giants, in summer training, the alternate training site, and the instructional league, drawing praise for the work he was doing. However, he suffered a shoulder injury late in instructional league, and had to receive surgery to repair the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder early in the offseason.
Strengths and Weaknesses: Batspeed is Canario’s calling card, and he rivals Marco Luciano for the best in the organization. That gives him his fantastic raw power, although his swing doesn’t have the same loft that will naturally propel home runs that other sluggers will get. He’s certainly shown he can get plenty of all types of extra-base hits with it.
Of course, the strikeouts are a symptom of his biggest weakness, which is a need to refine his approach. Every slugger has strikeout problems, but Canario’s are very notable. He will get taken advantage of by better pitchers with it until he fixes that.
In the field, Canario has been playing a lot of center field, but most feel he’ll be moving to a corner. He’s still working on his reads and routes, but he does have a strong arm, strong enough to play in right field.
2021 Outlook: Canario will likely start 2021 on the Injured List while recovering from his shoulder surgery, though how long could vary. He should be back on the field at some point this season, however, and will likely start in Low-A San Jose, showing off if the work he’s done on refining his plate approach have worked.
Future Profile: Canario is one of the boom/bust candidates, but is leaning towards more boom than bust. He can absolutely destroy the baseball when he puts the bat on it, and doing that makes you a star outfielder in this game. The strikeouts are a major pitfall, however, and they usually hit players like him in High-A or Double-A, as pitchers are working more on their breaking stuff. If Canario makes it, he’s a sensational superstar, but the floor is very well known for sluggers with too many strikeouts.
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