Unowned
Canaan Smith-Njigba, OF
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Scouting report
Another of the many prospects acquired for Jameson Taillon, the barrel-chested Smith-Njigba has huge strength-driven power and a really great approach. He’s only 21 but his frame is maxed out and may be difficult for him to maintain into his mid-to-late-20s. His size creates some stiffness and imbalance during his swing, but Smith-Njigba is explosive, picks great pitches to swing at, and runs pretty well underway. I won't go so far as to call him deceptively athletic but he does have a sibling with elite athleticism, underclass Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. While you can just watch Smith-Njigba swing and know he has big power, his exit velo data reinforces the visual evaluation in a big way. He averaged 91 mph off the bat in 2019 and hit just shy of 50% of his balls in play at 95 mph or above. Both of those are comfortably plus if we’re mapping them to the big league 20-80 scale. This data was generated in 2019 at Low-A Charleston where Smith-Njigba, despite being age-appropriate for the level, was more physically mature than most of the other players in the league. You could discount his Statcast-type production for this reason, but I think he has a shot to be a corner outfield regular based on his approach and power. (At-home dev)