Breakout Candidates: Cavan Biggio

In a season where two very high-ranking players both debuted for the Blue Jays, Cavan Biggio managed to stand out and get some attention of his own. He may not have won the AL rookie of the year, but he had a great year, and was arguably the best rookie for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019. This is not a slight to either of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette, as both had very impressive rookie seasons, and appear to be the superstars that they were supposed to be. This is more of an appeal to just how many heads Biggio turned after his very impressive 2019 performance.

The best still lies ahead for the versatile Cavan Biggio, who will soon get his proper recognition amongst the stars on the Blue Jays and in the league. After an explosive second half in his rookie campaign, he is a candidate to break out further in 2020 now that he proved what he is capable of.

Last season, Biggio finished fifth in AL ROY voting, and on September 17 in Baltimore, he hit for the first Blue Jays’ cycle since 2001. After debuting on May 24, he hit 16 home runs, 17 doubles and stole 14 bases in just above two-thirds of a full season of plate appearances. The main area for improvement for Biggio next season will be limiting his strikeouts, as 29% of his plate appearances ended with a third strike. Conversely, his plate discipline does not seem to be the issue behind his high strikeout rate, as he walked an impressive 17% of the time. His strikeout rate did not differ hitting against lefties or righties; which is an uncharacteristic trait for left-handed hitters with a high strikeout rate, as it is common for a hitter to strike out more often against the same handedness. Considering he doesn’t struggle facing a certain handedness of pitchers and has a high walk rate, it is likely that his strikeout rate will drop as he begins to accumulate more plate appearances at the Major League level, and is more able to amass solid contact as he did in the last month of the year.

A possible problem opposing the breakout of Cavan Biggio could be the lack of a clear-cut starting position in the Blue Jays’ order. Though by bWAR and fWAR he was not only the most valuable rookie for the team, but also the most valuable position player. Despite this, Biggio still has to earn a solidified role in Montoyo’s lineup going forward. A contributing factor — though it’s a blessing at times as well — Biggio struggles to hold down a consistent lineup spot due to his positional versatility. In 2019, while he mostly appeared at 2B, he started a combined 21 games between 1B, LF, RF and DH. This is definitely an advantage for Biggio to have; if he struggles, or if the Jays target a high-value player in the future of the rebuild he will always have an opportunity to crack the lineup somehow.

If Cavan Biggio manages to improve his strikeout rate, and lock down a consistent spot in the batting order, look for him to continue to acclimate to playing at the Major League level. This season Biggio must prove that his 2019 season was more than just a flash in the pan and that he will be among the most important names to remember as the Toronto rebuild continues trending towards winning baseball.