SF Giants: Five prospects other teams should target

SF Giants prospects to target: 2. Alexander Canario, OF

One of the most tooled-up prospects in the farm system and also, one of the most coveted is Alexander Canario. His numbers this season look slightly disappointing but his slow start in May largely skewed his stat line. Since June 1st, the outfielder looks settled in and is flashing all of the tools in the box with a triple-slash line of .277/.350/.503 with 11 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 24 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases.

Even though Canario’s level of play this season has been solid, there are still plenty of reasons why the Giants could be willing to let go of a prospect as talented as Canario for the right price. Canario has shown better patience at the plate with a 10.6% walk rate since June 1st. However, the Dominican still racks up the strikeouts with a 26.1% strikeout rate. The Giants offense this season definitely does not mind three-true-outcome traits as the team rank inside the top 10 in home runs and walks, but bottom 10 in strikeouts. Still, having a prospect flashing hard three-true-outcomes traits at Canario’s age is a bit of a concern as he matures. More importantly, they already have deep outfield depth in their system, and Canario is already on the 40-man roster. Trading him could give them more roster flexibility while not impacting their long-term plans too severally.

Prospects of Canario’s skillset (plus athleticism, ability to play center field, at least above-average power, speed, arm strength, and fielding with some strikeout issues) are often highly coveted in the trade market. In 2016, Lewis Brinson was the centerpiece of the deal that brought Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress to the Texas Rangers. A couple of years after, Brinson and fellow toolsy outfield prospect Monte Harrison were the centerpieces that brought Christian Yelich from the Marlins to Milwaukee. I would not expect Canario to be a centerpiece of a trade for a controllable star, like Yelich, but he could bring back a solid big-leaguer with team control or possibly an elite rental.