Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

It's hard to see Bigbie’s rise up the system and not think of Kerry Carpenter. Both were 19th-round picks, but Bigbie was a four-year player at Western Carolina after going undrafted out of high school and after his junior season in a pandemic-shortened 2020 Draft. Following an up-and-down 2022 campaign, Bigbie connected with hitting instructor Richard Schenck, who worked with Carpenter a year earlier. Bigbie's 2023 season was a breakout, with a .343 average, 19 homers and a .942 OPS across three levels, culminating with a late-season look at Triple-A Toledo. He kept on hitting in the Arizona Fall League.

Not only does the right-handed-hitting Bigbie have an affinity for the opposite field -- where more than 40 percent of his balls in play went at Double-A and Triple-A -- he hits there with authority. That approach allows him to be patient on fastballs, though he has worked on opening up and tapping into more pull power. He gets aggressive on offspeed, sometimes becoming susceptible to breaking balls. All that damage came while drawing high walk rates, including a .421 on-base percentage at Double-A and as many walks as strikeouts over 20 games in the Fall League. Bigbie converted from first base to corner outfield (mainly left) last year and handled the transition well, tempering his lack of speed with decent reads and routes. He catches the balls he can reach and has worked on improving his arm.

Despite a crowded outfield roster, the Tigers invited Bigbie to Major League camp for Spring Training to see how he might react to yet another bump in level. He hasn't maintained his momentum at Triple-A Toledo in 2024, though many of his underlying numbers are average or better (except when it comes to pulled fly balls), and he might have a better chance at breaking through next summer.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Bigbie performed all four years at Western Carolina, finishing with a career .350 average over 176 games, and after producing a .395/.500/.621 line in 2021, he went to the Tigers in the 19th round and signed for $100,000. Two years later, the 24-year-old has produced a breakout season, first hitting .333/.400/.543 with six homers in 37 games at West Michigan and then at Double-A Erie, where he’s managed to maintain his production at the second-highest level of the Minors.

Bigbie began his pro career as a predominant opposite-field hitter, and while it’s generally a positive to use the whole field, the Tigers have worked with him on improving his point of contact and getting a little more out in front of the ball, thus allowing his solid raw power to play better in his second full season. As a result, his strikeout percentage has also dropped to the mid-teens with the advanced contact, and he projects to hit for a solid average as he closes in on Detroit.

A below-average runner, Bigbie has transitioned from first base to the corner outfield spots, and the lesser demands of playing on the dirt may have played a role in his improved bat. He’ll track down balls in his general vicinity but won’t be a burner on the grass, and his arm is something the Tigers are trying to develop now that he needs it more. The bat is certainly looking like it’ll play and could push Bigbie to the Majors before his Rule 5 decision date.

Awards

MiLB.com Organization All-Star

Year	Team
2023

MiLB Awards All-MiLB Prospect First Team

Year	Team
2023

EAS Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2023

MID Player of the Week

Week	Team
05/14/2023

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/07/2024	Detroit Tigers Prospects activated 1B Justice Bigbie.
	02/07/2024	Detroit Tigers invited non-roster 1B Justice Bigbie to spring training.
	09/22/2023	Salt River Rafters activated 1B Justice Bigbie.
	09/07/2023	1B Justice Bigbie assigned to Toledo Mud Hens from Erie SeaWolves.
	09/07/2023	Toledo Mud Hens activated 1B Justice Bigbie.
	06/13/2023	1B Justice Bigbie assigned to Erie SeaWolves from West Michigan Whitecaps.
	06/13/2023	Erie SeaWolves activated 1B Justice Bigbie.
	05/25/2023	West Michigan Whitecaps placed 1B Justice Bigbie on the 7-day injured list retroactive to May 24, 2023.
	08/25/2022	1B Justice Bigbie assigned to West Michigan Whitecaps from Lakeland Flying Tigers.
	08/25/2022	West Michigan Whitecaps activated 1B Justice Bigbie.
	04/05/2022	1B Justice Bigbie assigned to Lakeland Flying Tigers from FCL Tigers West.
	04/04/2022	1B Justice Bigbie assigned to Detroit Tigers.
	04/04/2022	1B Justice Bigbie roster status changed by Detroit Tigers.
	08/17/2021	1B Justice Bigbie assigned to FCL Tigers West from FCL Tigers East.
	07/31/2021	1B Justice Bigbie assigned to FCL Tigers East.
	07/26/2021	Detroit Tigers signed 1B Justice Bigbie.