Canha staying selective, seizing leadoff spot

Through his seven seasons in the Majors, Mark Canha has grown comfortable in uncomfortable situations.

In particular, Canha has warmed to the concept of lengthening at-bats and working under the heat of two-strike counts. This season, his comfort level has been tested thanks to an alteration in the batting order.

Canha is the A’s everyday leadoff hitter now, taking the place of Marcus Semien, who signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent. The new challenge is one Canha has embraced in the first month of the season.

“I like getting us going,” he said Wednesday. “[But] it’s fresh. Being that first guy up every day, it feels like it has a responsibility. I really want to do a good job and I take it to heart. When I don’t do well, it hurts.”

Fortunately for Canha and the A’s, the early returns have been quite positive. Through 23 games, he’s posted a .250/.394/.417 slash line while earning a share of the Major League lead in runs (23) and hit-by-pitches (six).

Part of his success is due to his aforementioned knack for lengthening at-bats. Canha’s 4.49 pitches per plate appearance in 2021 is the highest of his career, though he has always been above league average (3.89 pitches/PA).

According to Baseball Savant, his chase rate has lowered every season since 2017, down to a career-best 16% this year. Then again, he’s also more selective across the board, with career lows in swing rate (36.8%) and first-pitch swing rate (14.4%, less than half the 29% league average).

There is sometimes an unspoken expectation for leadoff hitters to see more pitches than the average player, but that’s not always feasible. Canha prefers to maintain an approach that is malleable based on the situation.

“I tell myself to just have my at-bats and if it’s there, swing,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, you can’t just see five or six pitches sometimes. … The way the game is now, sometimes you’ve gotta attack one of those first two pitches.”

Canha, 32, hasn’t been a regular atop the batting order since he was a senior at San Jose’s Bellarmine College Prep (he had one previous start at leadoff in the Majors, in 2017). But he knew someone had to replace Semien this season, and so why not be that player?

“My whole career, I’ve kind of taken pride in filling in where I’m needed,” said Canha, a former Rule 5 draftee who has logged at least one start at five defensive positions in his career. “And not just being a fill-in but being a good fill-in. And doing a good job. That’s all I’ve wanted to do.”

Back in February, Canha was just one of a handful of candidates to take over leadoff duties. It’s clear now that he’s earned the spot for the foreseeable future.

“I think he’s done a fantastic job,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s [taken] a lot of determination.”