Canaan Smith-Njigba

Canaan Smith-Njigba

25-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Chicago White Sox AAA
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 minor-league contract with the White Sox in August of 2024.
Catches on with South Siders
OFChicago White Sox  AAA
August 15, 2024
Smith-Njiba signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Aug. 7 and debuted with Double-A Birmingham on Tuesday, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run.
ANALYSIS
Once a well-regarded prospect in the Pirates organization, Smith-Njigba hit .135 over 37 at-bats in the majors between the 2022 and 2023 seasons before he was moved off the 40-man roster in March. Smith-Njigba cleared waivers and stuck around with Pittsburgh at Triple-A Indianapolis, but he slashed just 212/.344/.330 over 219 plate appearances in the International League before he was cut loose in July. The 25-year-old outfielder has now found an opportunity in a new organization, but he'll likely still need to perform well at Birmingham and eventually Triple-A Charlotte for an extended stretch before he garners another look at the big-league level.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2023
2022
2023 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2022 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
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
More Splits View More Split Stats
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
More Splits View More Split Stats
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Canaan Smith-Njigba See More
Lineup Lowdown: National League
Lineup Lowdown: National League
September 19, 2023
September 19, 2023
Ryan Boyer presents Lineup Lowdown, an in-depth look at the National League's lineups, including the ascension of Michael Harris occasionally to the leadoff for the NL East-champion Atlanta Braves.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
June 11, 2023
There may be a prominent hitter who'll attract plenty of attention, but Jan Levine has also highlighted a few starting pitchers.
Todd's Takes: Clearing My Chest and Runs Galore
April 4, 2023
Todd Zola shares his thoughts from Monday's box scores, which included another strong showing from the potentially overlooked Trevor Larnach.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
April 2, 2023
Jan Levine surveys the fallout from the opening week and provides his top recommendations.
Minor League Barometer: Risers & Fallers
March 28, 2023
Jesse Siegel is back for a new season and is looking at a few top prospects who may already be in line to earn a lot of playing time.
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
Heads to free agency
OFFree Agent  AAA
July 8, 2024
The Pirates released Smith-Njigba on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Sent to Triple-A
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
March 31, 2024
Smith-Njigba cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Moved off 40-man roster
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
March 28, 2024
The Pirates designated Smith-Njigba for assignment Thursday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Optioned to Triple-A
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
March 12, 2024
The Pirates optioned Smith-Njigba to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Returns to Pittsburgh
OFPittsburgh Pirates  AAA
February 19, 2024
The Pirates claimed Smith-Njigba off waivers from the Mariners on Monday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.