Analytical approach, keen eye give prospect competitive edge
There’s a Connect Four game sitting somewhere inside the library of Rockwall-Heath High School in North Texas that sheds some light on one of the Pirates’ newest prospects.
Growing up a half-hour outside of Dallas, Canaan Smith-Njigba would spend much of his spare time dropping discs into the plastic grid, strategizing and forming lines that left his opponents humbled.
“He was in the library almost every day just challenging people to play him,” said Rockwall-Heath baseball coach Greg Harvey. “It was hilarious. He’s a humble guy, but he’s also a proud guy. He’d challenge anybody who walked through the door, ‘C’mon, you can’t beat me.
I’m the best ever.’ ”
Smith-Njigba, whom the Pirates acquired from the Yankees along with three other prospects for Jameson Taillon on Sunday, laughed when the story was relayed to him during a phone conversation with the Post-Gazette.
“Connect Four,” SmithNjigba said, “is my game.”
It’s also an apt description of what the Pirates are getting in the 21-year-old corner outfielder — colorful and comprised of many different pieces, a game predicated on thinking and expecting that next move.
While Smith-Njigba has terrific size (6 feet, 215 pounds) and power (60 on FanGraphs’ 20-to-80 scale), his preparedness and polish at the plate may be what ultimately set him apart.
“He’s a young outfielder with a really advanced offensive approach,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “He’s been a really good performer with a combination of plate discipline and good, quality contact.”
Where that comes from likely traces back to how Smith-Njigba was raised. His father, Maada, played college football at Stephen F. Austin, while his younger brother, Jaxon, committed to Ohio State as a five-star football recruit and the Texas 6A player of the year.
Competition was everywhere, whether that meant football, baseball, basketball or soccer. Nobody liked to lose. But where Caanan’s story shifts involves his love for baseball.
While nobody else in his family played beyond high school, Canaan got hooked watching Rockwall-Heath games with his dad, impressed by the camaraderie and the successful program Harvey built.
As a senior, Smith-Njigba became so feared as a hitter that he hardly got anything to hit. He walked 57 times in 43 games, the ninth-highest total in U.S. prep history at the time.
“His plate discipline was so good that he just wouldn’t swing at bad pitches,” Harvey said. “Being an 18-yearold boy, to have the discipline to not just want to put on a show, was something I admired.”
That discerning eye comes from a couple of places. Like those games in the library, Smith-Njigba loves the chess match with the pitcher, the back-and-forth and reacting off the other’s moves. There’s also the competitive aspect of never wanting to cede a pitch, let alone an at-bat.
The third was gained through YouTube. Although Smith-Njigba was born in 1999 and was hardly old enough to appreciate Tony Gwynn while the Padres legend was playing, he’s since gone down the online rabbit hole to learn more, taking special note of Gwynn’s consistency and all-fields approach.
“I love hitting home runs, but I’ve never been the type of guy who goes up there trying to hit them,” Smith-Njigba said. “I want to be a guy who’s consistently getting on base, drawing walks and moving guys. I want to be the complete hitter. If I do that, the home runs will come.”
Another neat thing about Smith-Njigba is that he’s relatively new to the outfield. He began his high school career as a catcher and even shifted to first base for a year, both because Harvey had other players with limited flexibility.
So with no minor-league season in 2020, Smith-Njigba is still developing in the outfield, especially when it comes to where he projects to stick — in left.
“Defense-wise, I feel like I’m getting a lot better,” Smith-Njigba said. “But I do feel like I can be an everyday player in the outfield.”
Evaluators agree, as MLB Pipeline rates both his fielding and arm tools at 50. But where Smith-Njigba will ultimately make a difference is with the bat, and that part frustrated him in 2018.
While slashing just .191/.281/.316 with Class A short-season Staten Island, striking out 30.4% of the time and totaling just 19 walks in 171 plate appearances, SmithNjigba said he “let things get out of control.”
With a more focused approach in 2019, Smith-Njigba broke out. The left-handed hitter led the South Atlantic League in walks (77) while ranking second in on-base percentage (.405) and third in both batting (.307) and OPS (.871).
At the time of the trade, MLB Pipeline called SmithNjigba New York’s “Best Pure Hitter.”
“I felt like I had something to prove,” said Smith-Njigba, who was predictably named an All-Star in 2019 and lavished with other superlatives.
But as great as those are, Smith-Njigba said he’s worried more about being a great teammate and becoming more of an all-around player, the type of guy who can run and field as well as hit.
If he does that, SmithNjigba believes the dots will eventually connect on a promotion to PNC Park.
“I’m playing a kids’ game,” Smith-Njigba said, talking about baseball and not Connect Four. “I just want to go out there and have fun. If I do that, my ability will take over.”