Canaan Smith-Njigba

Canaan Smith-Njigba

24-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Pittsburgh Pirates
2024 Fantasy Outlook
It would be easy to forget that Smith-Njigba factored into the Pirates' outfield mix early in the 2023 season, as he had accrued 37 plate appearances through the first three weeks of April. That sample wasn't particularly kind to him, as he was striking out at 43.3 percent clip and had just a .435 OSP before being optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Smith-Njigba didn't make it back to the majors and will now be fighting to make the Opening Day roster as outfield depth in Pittsburgh, though he wasn't helped by the offseason addition of Edward Olivares and the re-signing of Andrew McCutchen. At the age of 25, it's still too early to give up on Smith-Ngiba due to his extended run of success in the minor leagues, though he's likely running out of chances to prove himself as a contributor in the majors. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a one-year contract with the Pirates in March of 2023. Waived by the Pirates in February of 2024. Claimed off waivers by the Mariners in February of 2024. Waived by the Mariners in February of 2024. Claimed off waivers by the Pirates in February of 2024.
Sent to Triple-A
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
March 31, 2024
Smith-Njigba cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Smith-Njigba was designated for assignment as the Pirates cleared space on their 40-man roster for the start of the season, but he'll remain in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 24-year-old spent most of last season with Indianapolis and had an .839 OPS with 15 homers and 21 steals in 105 games.
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Batting Stats
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2023
2022
2023 MLB Game Log
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Scoring
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .000 3 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Since 2022vs Right .533 41 4 0 5 1 .147 .268 .265
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left .000 3 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2023vs Right .477 34 3 0 5 1 .138 .235 .241
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right .829 7 1 0 0 0 .200 .429 .400
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+22%
OPS at Home
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
+48%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
-100%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .575 10 1 0 1 0 .125 .200 .375
Since 2022Away .472 34 3 0 4 1 .138 .265 .207
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home .575 10 1 0 1 0 .125 .200 .375
2023Away .389 27 2 0 4 1 .125 .222 .167
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away .829 7 1 0 0 0 .200 .429 .400
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Prospect Rankings History
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Canaan Smith-Njigba See More
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2020
Smith-Njigba was among a number of young outfielders to make their big-league debut for the Pirates in 2022, as he was called up on June 13. Unfortunately, a broken wrist ended his campaign after only seven plate appearances with the club. He's since been fully cleared, which puts him in line to compete for a roster spot in spring training. That's where Smith-Njigba's defensive limitations will come into play, as he's strictly a corner outfielder, and both Cal Mitchell and Jack Suwinski are likely to get the first shot at locking down those roles. Unfortunately, even if Smith-Njigba steps into more playing time, it's unclear what he'd offer in a fantasy context. Scouting reports suggest that he has the potential to hit for above-average power, though he's never surpassed a .158 ISO at any level of the minor leagues. Entering his age-24 season, it's possible that Smith-Njigba can take a step forward, but for now his intrigue is primarily limited to very deep formats such as dynasty leagues, draft-and-hold, or NL-only leagues.
Smith won't be found highly ranked on any real-life prospect lists, as he is 20 years old and is already limited to left field and designated hitter. However, if we were just ranking prospects based on future hit and power grades, Smith would be a top-100 prospect. He has a knack for putting barrel to ball, lacing line drives (26.0 LD%) to all fields (36.2 Pull%) while walking a lot and striking out at a manageable clip (20.5 K%). Among qualified Sally League hitters, he ranked first in BB% (14.0), second in OBP (.405) and fifth in doubles (32). At 6-foot and at least 215 pounds, he fills out a uniform like a young Molina brother, so while he stole 16 bases, that was simply a product of him being on base a ton and having some savviness to his game. Smith will need to continue to rake in order to profile at the bottom of the defensive spectrum.
More Fantasy News
Moved off 40-man roster
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
March 28, 2024
The Pirates designated Smith-Njigba for assignment Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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Optioned to Triple-A
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
March 12, 2024
The Pirates optioned Smith-Njigba to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to Pittsburgh
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
February 19, 2024
The Pirates claimed Smith-Njigba off waivers from the Mariners on Monday.
ANALYSIS
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Designated for assignment
OFSeattle Mariners  AAA
February 17, 2024
The Mariners designated Smith-Njigba for assignment Saturday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Claimed by Seattle
OFSeattle Mariners  AAA
February 7, 2024
The Mariners claimed Smith-Njigba off waivers from the Pirates on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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