If I asked you who has the second-best OBP (.413), third-highest batting average (.289), wRC+(155) and wOBA (.391) on the Blue Jays over the last two weeks who would be your answer? Teoscar Hernández? George Springer? Bo Bichette? How about our old friend with the famous baseball last name Cavan Biggio? 

The 27-year-old Biggio — the target of many frustrated Blue jays fans — has quietly been a key part of the Blue Jays offense from way down at the bottom of the order. So now another question — Cavan Biggio worth a spot on your fantasy baseball teams? 

Will fantasy baseball managers be looking back in frustration, wishing that they picked him in July or will they be relieved that they didn’t get sucked into a mirage? These questions come at a perfect time since it’s “Third Base Day” in the Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight Series. Every Thursday, I break down a different MLB third baseman for your fantasy baseball lineups. Some weeks it is a prospect and others it may be a “sell-high”, “buy-low” or even “totally avoid at all costs”-type player. Today, I am going to dig into the son of a Hall of Famer that is still trying to pave his own way through the major leagues — Cavan Biggio.

 

 

 

Cavan Biggio Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight

 


Biggio is the son of former MLB player and Hall of Famer Craig Biggio — so the genes are there. He played at Notre Dame and was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft. He entered pro ball as a second baseman and unsurprisingly sported a contact-driven approach. He hit .282 with a symmetrical .382 OBP across Short-A and Low-A in his 2016 debut, walking one more time (29) than he struck out (28). In his second season, he saw a power surge at the expense of contact and hit in the low .230’s, striking out 140 times. He did go from zero home runs in 2016 to 11 in 2017 and once again stole 11 bases and walked 74 times.

In 2017, Blue Jays fans got a peek of the future when the Blue Jays' Class-A team in Dunedin won a share of the Florida State League championship — the first in franchise history — with a top three in the batting order made up entirely of sons of major-leaguers. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette were already tagged as “can’t miss” and got most of the attention but Biggio became another generational talent on his way to The Show.

Biggio was called up to the big leagues in May of 2019 after being named the 2018 Eastern League Rookie of the Year and MVP. During that magical 2018 season in the minors, he hit 26 home runs and 99 RBIs while slashing .252/.388/.499. He made his major league debut on May 24th and two days later, he got his first major league hit and in his next at-bat that game, he hit his first home run. On September 17, Biggio became only the third Blue Jay in history to hit for the cycle when he did it against the Orioles. In the 100 game rookie season he hit 16 home runs, was a perfect 14 for 14 stealing bases and had an excellent .364 OBP. 

2020 was even better and despite the COVID-shortened season, Biggio made a huge impact on the team. Biggio finished second overall on the team in WAR and led the team in OBP (.375), walks (41), runs (41) and doubles (16) while being a perfect 6-for-6 success rate in stolen bases. He also led the Jays in plate appearances with 265 and hit into only two double plays. Biggio was drastically better against left-handed pitchers with a slash of .299/.460/.908, however against righties was just .229/.333/.758.

 

What happened to Cavan Biggio?

In 2021, Biggio was a shell of his former self and turned into a liability due to his play in the field and also at the dish. He looked lost at the plate, hitting an abysmal .224 with an OPS just above .670. He was the primary target of frustrations from Blue Jay fans, and nothing seemed to go right. Biggio started the 2022 season penciled into the starting role at second base, but he was still dealing with after-effects of his elbow injury. He quickly lost the starting job to Santiago Espinal and by April 25th after going 1-for-23 (.044), he found himself on the IL with COVID, and eventually back in the minor leagues trying to find his stroke.

Biggio’s first three MLB seasons 2019-2021 (per baseball savant)

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Slash lines (2019-2021)

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On May 26, Biggio re-joined the team after an extended stay in Triple-A Buffalo (10 extra days) and he has become one of the most important pieces of the lineup since. Since his return, the numbers speak for themselves — he is just three doubles behind Lourdes Gurriel, his 20 walks lead the team and he is third in on-base percentage (.434) and slugging (.940) behind only Alejandro Kirk and Gurriel. 

 

 

 

Is Biggio back on track?

Now over his last 30 days he is hitting .274 with a .870 OPS; has a .205 ISO/.38wOBA; a 148wRC+ and 50% of his hits have been for extra bases. Most importantly, the Jays seem to think he is back and they are finding ways to get him in the lineup. Biggio qualifies at four different spots in most fantasy baseball leagues (first, second, third, outfield). He’s mostly been near the bottom of the lineup batting ninth, but he did draw three leadoff starts over the last two weeks.

 


Biggio may not turn out to be the superstar that the team was marketing early in his career. Right now, he’s filling an important role on a team with plenty of elite bats, and may back be to being at least a solid everyday player. He is less than 15% rostered in most fantasy baseball leagues, and I could see that doubling over the next week or two. I took a shot on Biggio in a few leagues this week claiming him off the wire so I wouldn’t blame anyone else for doing the same. 

 

 

 

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