5 years agoOakland Athletics Outfielder Mark Canha broke out in the second-half of 2019, hitting .301/.415/.528 with 14 home runs, 36 RBI, 44 runs and three stolen bases in 67 games. Part of his success can be attributed to clear improvements in plate discipline. Canha's BB% jumped from 8.3% in 2018 to 13.5% last year, while his O-Swing% fell from 31.1% to 23.1%. By not chasing pitches out of the zone, Canha got better pitches to hit and made the most of it, hitting more home runs from a 1-0 count than any other situation. However, some caution is required. While his improved plate discipline helped his xOBA, the majority of his underlying metrics remained similar to his career numbers. His barrel%, xSLG, and xwOBACON only experienced marginal improvements, and his LD% and FB% actually fell from his career numbers while his GB% rose. For example, Canha had eight more hits on LD in 2019 despite hitting four fewer total LD than in 2018, which might explain why his xBA was .248 despite a .273 average. Canha remains a solid bat with a solid OBP, but don't expect him to extrapolate his second-half out over a full year. It's more likely he finishes with a line resembling .250, 20+ home runs, 65 RBI, and 70 runs. Based on rbEDV that would equate to a pick around 230-240, which is slightly better than his 272 current ADP.--Eric Samulski