Even though Vladimir Guerrero Jr‘s debut was the most hyped, Cavan Biggio‘s debut went well too. The son of Craig Biggio, Cavan has a great eye. In his best, he can be a legitimate MLB all-star.
Cavan Biggio (b. April 11, 1995) was drafted by the Phillies in the 29th round of the MLB draft in 2013 out of HS, but he did not sign. He went to Notre Dame, and then he was drafted in the 5th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 draft. He is a UT man, but primarily a 2B. In 2016, Cavan slashed .273/.371/.349 with 0 HR in 238 AB. He showed elite plate discipline, but he didn’t show the power that I’ll get to in a second.
In 2017, Cavan Biggio was a 22 year old kid playing in A+ ball. That was when he showed us that he could hit home runs. But in 463 AB, he only hit 11 of them. He slashed .233/.342/.363 with 74 walks. Again, his plate discipline is elite. In 2018, he was promoted to AA. In 449 AB, he put it all together hitting 26 HR and slashing .252/.388/.499. This time he drew 100 walks.
As a direct output of his 2018 season, Biggio was promoted to AAA to start the season. In 138 AB before he was called up to the major leagues, Biggio slashed .312/.448/.514 with 6 HR. In his limited time, he walked 34 times while only striking out 28 times.
Before we get into his 2019 major league debut, let’s first talk about the 2019 prospect handbook. He was ranked as the 9th best prospect in the Blue Jays’ system.
“The son of hall of famer Craig Biggio, who went from a long shot minor leaguer to a legitimate prospect with a breakout season.”
Here are his tools:
Note (20-80 scale; 20 = worst in the league 80 = super elite)
Hit: 45
Power: 60
Run: 50
Field: 45
Arm: 50
He turned into a prospect into potential after one season.
In his major league debut on May 24, Biggio struck out twice going 0-3. He wouldn’t get a hit until his third game when he went 3-4 with a HR.
Biggio ended the season with 354 AB, slashing .234/.364/.429 with 16 HR and 71 walks. He came 5th in the rookie of the year voting, and he also stole 14 bases while never getting caught. Strikeouts were a problem, as he struck out 123 times.
This article was part 2 in a 5 part series about the Blue Jays rebuild titled “The Blue Jays Have Something Special”. As always, thank you for reading.