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Canaan Smith-Njigba Earns International League September Player of the Month

The outfielder led the IL in batting average, doubles and RBI
October 9, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS – Minor League Baseball today announced that Indianapolis Indians outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba was named the International League September Player of the Month after he led league qualifiers with a .417 batting average (30-for-72), nine doubles and 24 RBI in 19 games.

INDIANAPOLIS – Minor League Baseball today announced that Indianapolis Indians outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba was named the International League September Player of the Month after he led league qualifiers with a .417 batting average (30-for-72), nine doubles and 24 RBI in 19 games.

Smith-Njigba, 24, put together his best month of the season in September. In addition to leading the IL in batting average, doubles and RBI, he ranked among qualifiers in hits (2nd), total bases (T-3rd, 45), stolen bases (T-3rd, 7), OPS (5th, 1.100), on-base percentage (6th, .475), slugging percentage (T-7th, .625) and extra-base hits (T-7th, 11).

The outfielder was also named Indianapolis’ September Player of the Month after he logged a pair of career-high tying four-hit, five-RBI performances on Sept. 5 vs. Toledo and Sept. 19 vs. Rochester. In the latter, teammate Nick Gonzales hit for the cycle and joined him in recording five RBI to mark the second time this season two Indians had five RBI in the same game (also: Endy Rodríguez and Miguel Andújar on July 14 at Omaha). Previously, no two Indy teammates had driven in five RBI in the same game since Game 1 of a doubleheader on Aug. 6, 1998.

Smith-Njigba was selected by New York (AL) in the fourth round (122nd overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Rockwall-Heath (Heath, Texas) High School. He was traded to Pittsburgh on Jan. 24, 2021, with right-handed pitchers Roansy Contreras and Miguel Yajure, and infielder Maikol Escotto in exchange for right-hander Jameson Taillon.

Smith-Njigba is just the fourth Indian to earn an IL Player of the Month honor since Indianapolis rejoined the league in 1998, joining left-hander Zach Duke (May 2005), utilityman Alen Hanson (May 2015) and José Osuna (April 2018).