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Cavan Biggio has made some big strides over the past few years.
In 2017, we had him #34 on our prospect list. He had a pretty good OBP (as well as a lot of strikeouts). He seems to be just taking pitches until he walked or strikeout. As Matt put it, he was patient but not discriminating in terms of differentiating balls and strikes. As he moved up the minor league ladder and faced better pitching, we felt that he’d have more troubles.
But, in 2018, he learned to turn on a pitch and hit 26 home runs. He started 2019 in Buffalo and hit .312/.448/.514 in 40 games before getting called up to Toronto.
Cavan has played 159 games in his two MLB seasons, hitting .240/.368/.430 with 24 at-bats and 20 steals, without being caught. That’s good for a 4.9 bWAR and a 116 OPS+, pretty good for a season’s worth of baseball.
I think he’s going to have to swing at the first pitch of his at-bats a bit more often soon. I’m sure pitches will be grooving strike one down the middle more and more. But he seems a smart player. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.
PECOTA predicts a .232/.355/.410 line from Biggio, I’d like to think he’ll do better.
I think it is a small sample size, but Biggio didn’t hit well when leading off an inning. Leading off an inning hit .176/.263/.329, in 2019 and .225/.319/.375 last year. And he’s hit worse leading off a game, hitting .170/.264/.298 in that spot over the two seasons. I don’t know if that will play into Charlie’s lineup decisions.
There is a lot of talk about having George Springer leadoff off. I’d rather bat Springer 2, 3, or 4, but the Jays have many good batters who could fit in those spots. It isn’t a bad problem to have.
Poll
Where would you have Biggio hit?
This poll is closed
-
26%
First
(119 votes) -
25%
Second
(116 votes) -
9%
Three through Five
(43 votes) -
16%
Sixth
(74 votes) -
11%
Seventh
(50 votes) -
10%
Eighth
(49 votes)
Biggio is a man of many positions. He’s played:
- 122 games at second.
- 22 games in the outfield, playing all three spots.
- 10 at third.
- 8 at first.
He’s not a bad second baseman, but I think we’ll be better defensively with Marcus Semien at the position. And I think he’ll make a good third baseman. I would like them to play him there a lot and let him get good at the position.
Poll
If the over/under on Cavan’s games at third is 100 I’ll take the
Poll
How many positions will Cavan play this season (not counting DH)?
This poll is closed
-
47%
4
(173 votes) -
32%
5
(116 votes) -
11%
6
(41 votes) -
4%
7
(16 votes) -
0%
8
(3 votes) -
3%
9 (he pitches in a game)
(12 votes)
With 20 stolen bases, without being caught, Biggio is 7 short of the major league record, held by Tim Raines to start off a career. Let’s ignore that Tim Locastro has 26 steals without being caught to start his career and will likely get there first.