Griffin Alexander Canning (born May 11, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA). He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Amateur career

Canning attended

Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) is a coeducational college preparatory Roman Catholic high school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States. SMCHS is owned and operated by the Diocese of Orange, and was opened in ...

Rancho Santa Margarita, California Rancho Santa Margarita is a city in Orange County, California, United States. One of Orange County's youngest cities, Rancho Santa Margarita is a master-planned community. The population was 47,853 at the 2010 census, up from 47,214 at the 2000 ...

. He played for the school's baseball team as a

. As a senior, he had an 11–3

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

with a 1.51

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 123

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, and was named the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' Pitcher of the Year. In his final game, he led Santa Margarita to victory in the 2014

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a s ...

SS Division I Championship, recording 11 strikeouts and allowing only two hits. Canning was drafted by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in the 38th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and played

(UCLA) for the Bruins. Canning made 15 appearances with 11 starts as a freshman at UCLA in 2015. He was 7–1 with a 2.97 ERA and 66 strikeouts. As a sophomore, he became UCLA's number one starter. He made 15 starts, going 5–8 with a 3.70 ERA and 95 strikeouts. Canning returned as UCLA's ace in 2017. In 17 starts, he went 7–4 with a 2.34 ERA and 140 strikeouts.

Professional career

The

selected Canning with the 47th pick in the second round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed with the Angels for a $1,459,200

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, but did not pitch in 2017. He made his professional debut in 2018 with the

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchis ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

, and after pitching 8.2 scoreless innings, he was promoted to the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League. He was promoted to the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in June. In 25 starts between the three teams, Canning went 4–3 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Canning returned to Salt Lake to begin the 2019 season up until his major league promotion.

Los Angeles Angels

On April 30, 2019, the Angels promoted Canning to the major leagues and he made his debut that night, against the Toronto Blue Jays, recording six strikeouts over innings pitched. After multiple trips to the IL with elbow inflammation, the Angels announced on August 22, 2019, that they would shut down Canning for the rest of the season, cutting his rookie season short. He went 5–6 with a 4.58 ERA and 96 strikeouts. In 2020, Canning went 2–3 with a 3.99 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 11 starts. He was tied for the AL lead among pitchers with three defensive runs saved and made just one error out of 16 chances. Canning went on to win his first Gold Glove Award that season. In 2021, Canning went 5–4 with a 5.60 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 13 starts. On July 3, 2021, Canning was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. On August 10, 2021, the Angels announced that Canning would miss the rest of the season with a low back stress fracture. Canning was placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the 2022 season. In August, he was shut down after experiencing multiple setbacks in his recovery, and did not make a professional appearance on the year. On January 13, 2023, Canning signed a one-year, $850K contract with the Angels, avoiding salary arbitration.

Personal

Canning grew up an Angels fan.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canning, Griffin 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Mission Viejo, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Angels players Gold Glove Award winners UCLA Bruins baseball players Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Mobile BayBears players Salt Lake Bees players