Meet A Prospect: Greg Bird

Gregory Paul Bird was born on November 9, 1992 in Aurora, Colorado. Bird spent his high school years at Grandview High School also in Aurora, Colorado where he was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees. The Yankees too Bird in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB First Year Player's Draft in June of that year and Bird is currently in A Ball with the Charleston Riverdogs in the Yankees organization. There is some speculation that Bird will be promoted to AA Trenton with the Thunder for the start of the 2014 season to replace free agent Andrew Clark.

Bird was known for his big bat and monster power coming out of the draft and was handed down a big time signing bonus. Bird got the biggest bonus that the Yankees handed down in that draft, $1,100,000, to get him out of his commitment to the University of Arkansas. Bird was drafted as a catcher as he spent the bulk of him time behind the dish in High School but was immediately moved to first base when he made his professional debut.

Bird made his professional debut in 2011 with the Gulf Coast Yankees in the Rookie League but only got into four games and saw 13 at bats with the team. Bird's small sample size produced a .083/.154/.083 triple slash with only one hit, one walk, and four strike outs.

Bird stayed in the GCL with the Yankees for the 2012 season getting into 17 games and posting a triple slash of  .286/.419/.367 with 14 hits. Two of those hits were doubles and one was a triple and while he was shut out of the home run column he knocked in five RBI's while taking 11 walks and striking out 13 times. Bird played catcher and first base for the GCL Yankees and did not commit an error behind the dish in three games while committing one error at first. Bird would be promoted to the Staten Island Yankees in the New York Penn League in 2012 and spent another 11 games and 47 plate appearances with the SI Yankees. Bird produced a triple slash of .400/.489/.650 after the promotion with two home runs, 16 hits, eight RBI's, four doubles, six walks, and ten strike outs. Bird committed one more error at first base in Staten Island posting a fielding percentage of .989.

Bird broke out last season while playing for the Charleston Riverdogs in Low A Ball posting a triple slash of .288/.428/.511 in his first full professional season. Bird played in 130 games and saw 573 plate appearances while hitting 20 home runs, knocking in 84 RBI's, took 107 walks, striking out 132 times, and hit 36 doubles and three triples en route to his 132 hit season. Bird had a career high in errors at first base, which was painful to watch at times, committing 11 errors and posting a .987 fielding percentage.

Bird is probably the best, or at least in consideration to be the best, first base prospect in all of baseball right now after his breakout season in 2013. In the minor leagues in 2013 looking at first basemen with a minimum of 400 plate appearances Bird is 7th in wRC+, which is 62% above league-average production. The six players ahead of him in wRC+ are all at least 25 years old and three of them are in the Mexican League. Of the five first basemen prospects at least with 400 plate appearances at age 20 or younger he was first in wRC+. Bird is being donned to the eventual replacement for Mark Teixeira when his mega contract expires and is widely considered the Yankees best first base prospect since Nick Johnson. I am glad that we are not putting any pressure on this guy at such a young age or anything. 

Expected ETA: Mid to late 2016