McCutchen Mailday #11 - 21: Lots of low numbers, rainbows, and an another Strata

I have over 1,000 unique Andrew McCutchen cards.  Of all those, I have started many rainbows, but have only completed two officially.

My recent purchases which ALL arrived on the same day contained a lot of needs for my Prizm, Bowman, and Topps rainbows. 

It felt like Christmas opening all those packages.  There was so many cards that my girlfriend was actually calling me Jimmy Fallon based on the movie Fever Pitch.  "Wow Jimmy, looks like you got some more cards in the mail today" is one of her favorite phrases when I have big maildays like this.

Some of the key cards were
 /5 press proof of Studio 13
/10 Father's Day Element
/25 Prizm 2014
/60 Prizm 2015
/75 Bowman 2014

Going for the Gold!!!!

The Pirates are entering the home stretch as they currently have the 3rd best record in the major leagues, yet still trail the St. Louis Cardinals.  Rosters will be expanding soon which is both a good and bad thing for baseball fans.  For fans of teams who have already basically been eliminated from contention, it gives them a false sense of hope for next season to "see what the young kids can do".  For fans of teams in playoff contention it means having to face rosters fully maxed out to prevent you from winning a game. 

One player that I am hopeful the Pirates promote, but seriously doubt they will, is switch hitting speedy middle infielder Alen Hanson.  I have seen Hanson play nearly a dozen times in the minors and his bat speed AND foot speed is unbelievable.  The kid can flat out run and swing the bat.  He would be a perfect pinch hit or pinch run option for the Pirates as they strive for a World Series berth.

I have added several nice Hanson cards to my collection over the past year, but this is by far the nicest of the bunch.  Bowman Inception offers beautiful On Card Autographs of some of the game's upcoming prospects.  The Gold Autos are numbered to only 5 copies and there are a few people out there trying to build the set.  I'm glad I was finally able to add this to the collection.

The Legend of John Holdzkom

Many sports publishers released articles about John Holdzkom and his path to the big leagues in 2014.  For those of you that don't know Holdzkom was a 4th round pick of the New York Mets in 2006.  He's 6ft7 and throws hard.  After many minor league seasons he was eventually released and joined the Reds for a season in A ball as a 24 year old.  He would be released again and eventually joined several independent leagues before being scouted by the Pirates in 2014.  The Pirates signed him to a minor league deal and he tore through AA and AAA hitters striking out 37 batters in 26 innings while allowing only 15 hits sprinkled across those 26 innings.  The Pirates rewarded the tall righty with a September callup and he continued to dominate at the major league level as well.  He struck out 14 batters in 9 innings of work and surrendered only 4 hits.

The Pirates appear to have struck gold in the tall righty and I felt the need to add a gold rookie card of the Legendary John Holdzkom while the prices were still only .25 delivered.  Figured a quarter was a fair price to pay for someone being compared to John Lackey.

If you want to read more about Holdzkom check out the Baseball America article.

Alen Hanson Bowman Inception Auto and Jersey

2014 Bowman Inception Alen Hanson AUTO/RELIC 9/50

Alen Hanson entered the season regarded as one of the best shortstop prospects in baseball. Somewhere between the start of the season and finishing the 2014 season with 33 errors (most at shortstop) he was taken off many top 100 prospect lists. He two former minor league team mates, Gregory Polanco and Dilson Herrera have already made their MLB debuts.

There's still a lot to like about Hanson's gameplay offensively. I got to see him with the Curve this year and his bat speed is incredible. If he can hit .280 and steal 20+ bags a year batting in the leadoff or two hole for the Pirates their lineup looks frightening to NL pitchers.

BTW...I am disappointed in you all for not leaving a single comment on yesterday's post. Where's your sense of charity folks?

Reese can really rock!!!!

Ok, ignore the pink background.  Look at this card!!! It looks like it could be from an inner cd cover of a metal band.  Look at the young backstop screaming holding up the metal sign signifying 2 outs.  Yup this is a badass card and an ebay 1/1.  I forget the price I paid for it, but it was significantly more than what they are going for now.

2014 Bowman Inception Autograph 50/50

Regardless though I am happy to add this 2014 Bowman Inception autograph to my collection.

Reese had a good season despite lower offensive numbers than his pro debut.  Reese is still only 19 years old and performed very well for a teenage backstop in A ball batting .262/.307/.334.  He doesn't have a power stroke yet, but is a good contact hitter with some gap power.  He's shown good plate discipline in the lower minors by having a 63 strikeout to 40 walk rate.  Where Reese truly shines though is how impressive the young man is behind the plate throwing out 39% of potential baserunners.

Because McGuire is of Irish heritage let's show some boobs....

Marte Partay!!!!

Starling Marte had another very under rated season.  Despite getting little recognition outside of Pittsburgh, Marte managed to post another 5+ WAR season while appearing in only 135 games.  He posted his best offensive numbers of his young career by setting new career highs in batting average, obp, slugging, HR, and RBI.

Defensively Marte is an enigma when it comes to Sabremetrics.  If you look at his stats some show incredible zone ratings, while fielding percentage is bad.  If anyone has ever watched him roam left field though, it's clear that this dude can chase them down.  He makes extra base gap shots look like routine outfield catches.

2013 Bowman Chrome 19/35 Pink Parallel

I purchased this 2013 Bowman Chrome pink parallel when I was planning the all month pink parallel October a few months back for under $10 delivered.

Now for the boobs

Buy More, Save More

I don't buy into the concept of buy more, save more very often.  Bulk stores like Costco and BJ's Wholesale don't often offer much more value than your average supermarket's sale price.  I should know, I work at a supermarket.

However, I do find ebay lots to often offer incredible savings.  Take the lot you see above for example.  Reese McGuire, Alen Hanson, and Gregory Polanco all show up on most scout's top 100 prospects while Blake Taylor and Nick Kingham profile to be mid rotation innings eaters.

I managed to win all 6 cards for $39 delivered.  That's around $6.50 a piece.
Only 3 of the 6 autos are on card (Blake Taylor, Reese McGuire, Gregory Polanco)
Let's see how I was able to save on this lot.

Blake Taylor was a 2013 second round draft pick southpaw that put up very strong numbers as a 17 year old pitching in the gulf coast league in his debut season.  Due to the shortened season and signing late, Taylor pitched in only 21 innings, but had  a WHIP of 0.762 with an ERA of 2.57 while striking out 13.  His fastball reaches low 90s and many scouts think he will add velocity as his figure fills out.
These normally go for under $5 delivered which could be a steal in the future.

Reese McGuire was the second 1st round pick the Pirates had in 2013.  Reese is currently in low A ball and had a tremendous season last year after quickly signing.  He doesn't have much pop yet, but is highly regarded for his defensive skill set and contact at the plate.  In terms of his skill set, I see him being similar to Jason Kendall but with less HR potential.
These base autos typically start around $5 delivered and run up to $10.

Alen Hanson is one of baseball's most promising shortstop prospects.  He profiles as a typical leadoff hitter with solid line drive contact, some pop, and lots of speed.
The base autos for Hanson run around $7 delivered

Gregory Polanco is one of the top ranked prospects in baseball right now and his Bowman Sterling on card autos are by far the best value if you are looking to add an auto of the young 5 tool talent.
The base autos start around in the range of $10 -$18 delivered.  

The base auto for Nick Kingham normally start at around $5, but often run up to $9 delivered.  The real highlight of the lot was the gold refractor numbered 5/50.  This card averages to around $20 delivered.

Taking the highs and lows of the lot, the average price for this lot would be in the $52-$69 range.  That's a savings of $14-$30 for a lot of cards that were all new additions to the Treasure Room.

The Newest Additions to my Ark

Not too long ago I made a post of Pirates players with animal nicknames that I added to my collection.  I added some more Mad Dog and Cobra cards to my collection and am now proud to announce adding a dingo. That's right a dingo. Rather than eating a baby, this dingo looks like it was attacked by a baby.

"The Dingo", Dino Restelli was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1949. During his rookie season he hit 7 homeruns in his first 10 games. He would finish his career with 13 homeruns in 93 games.  While I am always on the lookout for cards to complete my Topps sets, I still keep an eye out for early Bowman releases of Pirates of Yesteryear.  Picking up this old 1950 Bowman (a year that Restelli didn't even play) for $3 shipped was too good a deal to pass up.  Truth be told I never even heard of the guy and had to look him up on Wiki and Baseball-reference to find out about him.  Once I realized that his nickname was Dingo, I had to do a follow up to my previous animal nicknames post.

Interesting fact: Dino Restelli was the 3rd to last Pittsburgh Pirate to wear the number 21.  Paul Smith wore the number in 1953 before Roberto Clemente began to wear the number regularly in 1955.

2004 Throwback Threads Dynasty Relics 9/25 (3 piece relic)
And since I promised some more Mad Dog and Cobra cards, here's one of my favorites.  It's a three piece relic featuring a black jersey worn by Willie "Pops" Stargell, a yellow jersey of Dave "The Cobra" Parker, and a bat of Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock.  I managed to pick this up awhile ago for around $30.  Seemed like a reasonable price for the 3 key components of the 1979 World Series team.  At only $10 a relic, it wasn't too overpriced considering the low print run of only 25.  I love that the team's colors were all used in the design of this card and that every player's relic is different to give the card more character.

I also picked up a few more cards from the animal kingdom by adding a couple autographs of the Cobra and Mad Dog.  

The above Dave Parker is from 2010-11 In The Game and features a very large swatch of yellow from Dave's time with the Pirates along with an autograph of the Cobra.  The picture features Parker in his Pirates days (minus the logos of course).  I paid a bit more than I usually would like for an unlicensed card of the Cobra, but for $24 for such a HUGE swatch of yellow and his auto nicely inscribed I didn't want to pass it up.

In addition to the sweet ITG Auto and Jumbo Relic I managed to grab this 2011 Panini Limited Greats autograph of Dave Parker for a small chunk of change, $6.50 to be exact.  The card doesn't have a low print run (499) and is a sticker auto, but it's still an auto of the fricking Cobra!!!!  Personally I really like the design of this card.  The black and white photography for the retired players with a simple border going around the card matched with a nice blue sharpie auto make this card classy looking.  If only the auto was on card instead of sticker.

2005 UD Past Time Signatures 

Mad Dog won 2 batting titles and was an All-Star twice while with the Pirates in 7 years.  He finished his 15 year career with 2008 hits and a lifetime .305 average.
Marking my 4th Auto (3 of which are on card) of Bill Madlock is this 2005 UD Past Time Signatures that I picked up for under $6 shipped.  After coming across this card, I decided to see what other players were in the Past Time Signatures set.  There's a lot of interesting players that don't normally have certified autographs available.  Best of all they're all on card.  So if you're looking for Ray Knight, Luis Tiant, Kent Hrebek, Mike Scioscia, and many more players from the 70s and 80s then this is a good auto series to look into.  Most of the players can be had for less than $10 and you'd be surprised at some of the players on the checklist of your favorite teams that you might not have known had certified autos.

I'll take $1, Bob (pt1)

When my local mall puts on a card show, it's normally got one table where you can buy cards for $1.  They're all in penny sleeves inside toploaders.  I normally wouldn't drop $1 on each of the cards, but for some reason I always find myself getting a fix at that table.  They also run a "deal" where it's 12 for $10 or 25 for $20.  

I did the 25 for $20 and grabbed some Pirates and Penguins cards.

The selection of Pirates players was weak.  Very weak actually.  There was only a few Cutch cards and I had all of them.  There was no Walker, Jones, Hanrahan, or Bays.  I sure as hell am not going to lay down a $1 for a Zach Duke 2010 Topps Gold Parallel so I went with some of the younger pitchers who've never thrown an MLB pitch before to add to my collection.  Oh and I got a lot of bull (El Toro).

Here's what I picked up as I tried to fill in some of my player collections.

Up first a few cards of the future ace Gerrit Cole

2012 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects
2012 Topps Debut

2012 Leaf National Sports Convention Young Stars
2012 Topps Heritage Minors

Cole was the number 1 overall selection in the 2011 draft and has the potential to be a front of the rotation starter with his devastating triple digit fastball and slider.  Prices on cards featuring him are already starting to skyrocket thanks to him being a top 10 prospect in all of baseball.  I managed to grab 4 of his cards at the table.

All four are new additions to the PTR.  Even though it's unlicensed I was really excited to add the NSCC promo of Cole to my collection.  More on that card later on though...

Next up is another potential future ace Jameson Taillon.

2012 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects
2011 Bowman's Best
2012 Topps Debut Minor League All-Stars

While Cole possesses a higher ceiling and is closer to the big leagues, I personally like Taillon more.  I got to see his AA debut last year when he got promoted to the Altoona Curve to face the Trenton Thunder.  Taillon's curveball is knee buckling when working properly.  He faced an All-Star loaded Team USA lineup while pitching for Team Canada during the WBC and was incredible in that too.  

I also grabbed 4 new Pedro Alvarez cards that I didn't previously have

2011 Bowman gold parallel
2011 Bowman International parallel

2012 Bowman Blue Parallel 383/500
2012 Bowman International Parallel

Ooh Bowman parallels.  I likey.  Prior to these I never had an international Bowman card.  I'm glad El Toro was my first. LOL!  The blue parallel from 2012 Bowman is numbered 383/500.  

2012 Leaf National Sports Convention Young Stars

The final card of my $10 haul was another unlicensed promo card from the National Sports Convention.  This one featuring the highest bonus paid to someone outside the first round.  Yes I am talking about Josh Bell, the switch hitting 5 tool talent that will be gracing the outfield grass with Cutch and Marte in 3-4 years.  I included a scan of the back below.

I was hoping to find some other Young Stars from this set, but when I asked the dealer if he had anymore he said "those shouldn't even be in there." I guess the Cole and Bell were my free 2 cards in the 12 for $10 deal.  I'll still take it though.  Tomorrow I'll show off the 13 Penguins I grabbed for $10 to complete the 25 for $20 deal.

Pulled a hit from 2011 Bowman Draft Picks

Last night, while at Wal-Mart I was shopping and on a whim decided to pick up a blaster of 2011 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects.  The blaster contained 7 packs for $19.99.  I normally don't like to buy blasters unless they're reduced.  However, on an impulse I picked it up along with a few other things I went shopping for.

I don't have time to go through every single card or break it down by the pack, but here's some of the highlights.  First up is the gold bordered cards inserted 1 per pack. 

Next are the refractors.  None are numbered.

 An Alex Dickerson Bowman Chrome for the PC

 2 Pirates rookie cards.  I expect both Tony Watson and Alex Presley to be key players for the Pirates this coming season

 and finally a hit.....

Jurickson Profar All-Star Futures Game jersey card.  Jurickson has the makings of being a solid MLB player for the future.  I just wonder if he will ever get the chance since Elvis Andrus is such a key player for that lethal Texas offense.

If anyone wants any of the cards above, just let me know.

As an additional note, the Penguins ended their 6 game losing streak.  Congratulations to Evgeni Malkin for making the All-Star team.  Here's a 2011 Pinnacle City Limits gold jersey card I won a few months ago that hadn't been posted yet.  This card is numbered 468/499.