September 18, 2019

By Jay Blue

Blue Jays from Away

This season has all been about player development and much of the attention has gone to the deserving exploits of Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette, two sons of major leaguers who project to be anchors of the Toronto Blue Jays' lineup for years to come.

Another son of a big-league (and Hall-of-Fame) dad, second baseman Cavan Biggio, made history Tuesday night with the Blue Jays, giving Jays fans hope that a third potential anchor is already playing every day an ready to step up after some flagging production in his first year in the major leagues.

Cavan Biggio, 24, is a little older than Vladdy and Bo, but he did something Tuesday night that only two other Blue Jays have done before him: hit for the cycle. After striking out in his first at bat, he homered, scoring himself and Bo Bichette, in the third inning before singling to lead off the sixth inning. He doubled in the eighth inning and then came up in the ninth, driving in two more runs with a triple to left-centre field. He also added two stolen bases on the night. The last Blue Jays cycle was by Jeff Fry on August 17, 2001 and Kelly Gruber managed the feat on April 16, 1989.

But Cavan Biggio wasn't the first Biggio to hit for the cycle, as his dad accomplished the feat on April 8, 2002 as a member of the Houston Astros as Coors Field in Colorado. With Cavan's cycle last night, the Biggios are only the second father-son duo to hit for the cycle after Gary Ward (Sept. 19, 1980) and Daryle Ward (May 26, 2004).

With 2.6 rWAR and 1.9 rWAR, Biggio leads the current Blue Jays in the category on both Baseball Reference and Fangraphs, respectively (both sites have Marcus Stroman as the club leader and FG also has Eric Sogard slightly ahead of Biggio). Biggio has compiled a .230/.361/.425 slash line in his rookie season, posting an OPS+ of 111 thanks to his stellar walk rate (16.8%) and some pop in his bat that has produced 14 home runs so far this year.

Like most rookies, Biggio's season has had its ups and downs. Manager Charlie Montoyo said, "He came into the league . . . and then the league made an adjustment on him. . . . He needed to be aggressive again, and that's what he's doing now."

Looking at Biggio's stats over his last 15 games, you can see that he's either made an adjustment or is running a hot streak, as he's hitting .365/.507.769 with five doubles, two triples and four home runs although he has struck out over 25% of the time (which is down from his season strikeout rate of 28.4%).

Obviously it's still early in his career for Cavan Biggio but, along with the likes of Vlad and Bo, he's definitely giving Blue Jays fans something to cheer for and get excited about as this developmental season winds down.

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The 2019 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Handbook is available now! Visit the Handbook page for more information!