January 4, 2010

Top 50 Twins Prospects 2010: #47 Evan Bigley

2010 Top 50 Twins Prospects | #47 | Evan Bigley

Position | Outfield

Bats/Throws | Right/Right

Born
| March 9, 1987 (Combine, Texas)

School | Dallas Baptist

Height
| 6'1''

Weight
| 200 lbs.

2009 Ranking | 41





Breakdown
The Twins drafted Evan Bigley in the 10th round of the 2008 draft. Drawing attention by scouts over his raw home run potential, most expected Bigley to continue his power surge in 2009. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case as he hit half of the home runs in twice as many at-bats from the 2008 season. Bigley played just 25 games with the Snappers before being called upon by the Fort Myers Miracle to take Joe Benson's place on the roster, after he lost a fight with a cement wall. Bigley remained in Fort Myers the rest of the season, finishing with a .287/.337/.415 tri-slash line between the two stops. Bigley is below-average defensively and may be up for a switch to first base at some point in the future. His lack of plate discipline is also alarming and he did little to improve in that area last season. The 90 strikeouts he racked up between Beloit and Fort Myers isn't as alarming as the 25 walks he drew. He held his own in the pitcher-friendly confines of the Florida State League, but if he wants to climb the ladder in an outfield-rich system, he'll have to make major improvements.

2009 Statistics
          Level      G     PA     AVG     OBP     SLG     XBH     HR     RBI
          A-        25    106    .307    .340    .446       9      2      22
A+ 95 362 .280 .336 .405 29 5 46

2010 Outlook

I'll be surprised if Bigley isn't back in Fort Myers to begin the 2010 season. I think that if he does go to New Britain, it won't be until mid-season.

Video
None

Estimated Time of Arrival
2011

(Picture courtesy of Nathan Bortz from Border Ball)

6 comments:

JK said...

Josh, Have you considered adding a league adjusted stat such as OPS+, wOBA+, wRC+? Minor league scoring environments vary so much sometimes it's hard to know what to do with a raw hitting line. It can be helpful to know how a hitter compares to his peers.

Bigley was 6-11% better than league average. He's oldish for A+ and has little defensive value, so I like your rating. Keep up the great work!

Josh Johnson said...

JK - I guess I haven't really put much thought into it. I sometimes use them when making the rankings, but I generally am just trying to keep in mind which leagues favor which position.

I know where to find wOBA and wRC+ for minor leaguers, but I haven't been able to find OPS+. Maybe I'm just blind though.

JK said...

Josh, wRC+ and wOBA+ are probably the better stats anyway, as they are based on linear weights. Thanks for all the great work.

Anonymous said...

good call on Bigley getting called up in mid-season. But I think you underestimate his defensive skills, having seen him this year, he's very solid actually - zero errors in 97 games with Ft Myers this year.

Josh Johnson said...

Glove work doesn't make you a good defender. By all accounts, Bigley has below-average range and doesn't take the best routes to balls.

Anonymous said...

I beg to differ. 20 assists this year between Ft. Myers and New Britain. Not bad. I agree, he has to work on his K/BB ratio.