Alexander Canario Turns Heads At Alternate Site
Alexander Canario made a splash in the lower levels of the minor leagues last year. This summer, the 20-year-old outfielder has turned some heads at the team’s alternate training site in Sacramento.
Giants farm director Kyle Haines said he’s “really proud of Alexander Canario and his growth here. I think he’s done a really nice job improving his plate discipline and kind of blending the raw tools with now a lot better skill set, both on offense and defense.
“I think we’ve seen a lot of growth out of him.”
The Giants signed Canario from the Dominican Republic in July 2016 when he was 16. He put up solid numbers in the Dominican Summer League in 2017 and the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2018, then produced at a much higher clip last year.
In 59 games split between the AZL and the short-season Northwest League, the 6-foot-1, 165-pound outfielder hit .318/.377/.623 in 59 games. Of his 75 hits, 38 went for extra bases—20 doubles, two triples and 16 home runs.
“He’s always had plus tools across the board,” Haines said, “and now he’s kind of learning how to have more of a veteran at-bat.”
The major blemish on Canario’s performance was 80 strikeouts in 265 plate appearances. Haines has liked the way Canario has addressed that issue.
Haines said Canario “definitely seems to be controlling the strike zone better, grinding out at-bats and not just going in there and kind of having that Rookie-ball mindset where every pitch that he can reach, he’d try to hit it out of the park.”
Teenage infielders Marco Luciano and Luis Toribio joined Canario not only in Sacramento but earlier at summer camp at Oracle Park. Haines hopes that experience will benefit the prospects.
“When they head back to the A-ball level,” Haines said, “they’re now able to share a lot of what they learned from the veteran players with our other young players . . . and basically . . . become the veteran presence among their peers.”
GIANTICS
— Haines also praised the summer work of Patrick Bailey, the switch-hitting catcher from North Carolina State whom the Giants took with the 13th overall pick in June.
“He just grows on you a little more each day,” Haines said.
Many people were surprised the Giants drafted a catcher in the first round two years after they selected Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart with the second overall pick in 2018.
“Catching’s so hard to come by,” Haines said. The farm director said that in the NFL and NBA “usually teams draft more on need. With the minor leagues being the stepping stone to the big leagues, you always go with best available.
“We just thought really highly of Patrick Bailey. We thought it was a good chance to add as good of a player as we possibly could to the organization.”
On Aug. 20, the day after Haines made the comments about Bailey, the Giants called Bart to the majors for the first time.
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