Mark Canha (1B/OF, OAK) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 13% of Fleaflicker Leagues

ANALYSIS: Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: Canha’s power is legit. He mashed 20 home runs last year in Triple-A with a .303/.384/.505 slash line, impressing the A’s brass enough to snag him from the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft. Thanks to the rules of that draft, the A’s are now forced to carry Canha on their 25-man roster all season long. This makes his floor for playing time much higher than a lot of untested rookies. That might not matter to owners in shallow leagues looking to stream Canha on a week-by-week basis, but in deep leagues playing time assurances can be worth their weight in gold.

Hot bats are always a target on the waiver wire. It’s a bit too early to put Canha in that category, but he’s certainly looked locked in over the last few days. Including tonight, Canha has seven hits and three home runs in just three games and played a key role in the A’s victory over the Rangers on Friday. Hopefully, his heroics will be enough to catch his manager’s eye, because this is a batter with 20 home run power. If Canha starts getting regular playing time, you could start to see his ownership numbers begin to rise very quickly through the next few days.