2013 Heritage Minors Team Set

I like Topps Heritage.  I said it, let's move on.
I came across someone selling the Pirates team set from Heritage Minors and pulled the $8 trigger for ten cards.  Dilson Herrera is no longer part of the organization as he was the centerpiece to the trade that brought Marlon Byrd, John Buck, and cash to the Pirates for their playoff push.

Of the 9 players still with the organization, 4 of them are listed as top 100 prospects in baseball (Taillon, Heredia, Hanson, and Polanco).  One is not too far removed from being on that list and if he can prove he's healthy, will likely return to being a top prospect (Josh Bell).

The Pirates future is bright, but....

The future star of this set though is Jameson Taillon (seen below)

1/2 way to making my own baseball cards

Last night Jeff and Greg  made a joke of how I am going to embark on a reprint business because of my extensive number of printing plates I've been picking up lately.  Here's 4 more!

I saw some Luis Heredia 2012 Bowman printing plates on ebay fairly cheaply and decided to pick up 2 of the 4 plates available.  I'm now half way to making my own cards.

Here's the black printing plate numbered 1 of 1.  Picked this one up for $19.99

And here's the yellow that I bought for $14.01 shipped.

Now I just need the cyan and magenta

Similarly I saw 2 Andrew McCutchen 2012 Archives printing plates so now I have half the plates of the Andrew McCutchen 2012 Topps Archives cloth sticker insert.

These two cards were picked up for $46 total.

These are the cyan and magenta printing plates used to make the cloth sticker insert of Cutch.

Not only are printing plates extremely rare since they are all 1 of 1s, but they are also quirky enough that people who don't collect cards think they're unique.  For instance a friend of mine who doesn't collect cards saw a Willie Stargell bat relic I have and wasn't phased, but having two printing plates side by side impressed him enough to say "that's awesome"

Some sweet COMC Pickups

I saw a very limited dual auto of the Pirates 2010 Top Draft Picks (Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie) on COMC and decided to use some of the money in my paypal account to pick up some other fun cards for my collection.  So for the price of two blasters, here's what I got.

a couple presteroid cards of Barry Bonds.  Notice how much bigger his head is compared to his body before going into San Fransisco.  LOL! I also got a Jay Bell(hop) card which just looked fun.  Well worth the price of a gumball for all 3 cards.

I picked up just a few cards for the player collection with not a single card costing me more than .55 which includes an Andy Van Slyke 1985 Topps Rookie Card

I also got a couple Heritage cards I needed getting me closer for my team sets to being completed.  I picked up 2 of Nate Baker because I'm hoping to get one signed at a future AA Altoona game.

I couldn't pass up these numbered parallels for the asking prices.  They ranged from .25 to $1.15.
Bonds 1125/1992
Taillon 284/309
Milledge 1595/2010
Vogelsong 573/2006

The above 4 autographs were all picked up for less than a $1 each.  Sure there's no HOF candidates in there, but it's nice to get on card autographs of Bucs from yesteryear. 
Tony Womack is 99th on the alltime steals list with 363 (122 in a Pirates uniform).
Kevin Young is 10th All Time on the Pirates HR list with 136 HR wearing a Pirates uniform. 
Al Martin is 18th all time on the Pirates HR list with 107 HR wearing a Bucs uniform. 
Brad Eldred...he was the first Pirate to hit a HR that my girlfriend and I attended a game together.  He also has 240 minor league homeruns which is ridiculous numbers.

I finished off 2 Topps team sets from 1971 and 1973.  I also got two nice looking vintage Gene Alley cards.

A COMC box wouldn't be complete unless it had some Jason Bay jersey cards in it so I picked up 3.  I'm really digging that 4 piece Canada jersey from 2006 Sweet Spot Sweet Beginnings.  The 08 Topps and 07 Sweet Spot cards were had for $1.99 and $2.50 respectively.

This was the big hit of my COMC purchase.  A dual auto from 2011 In The Game Heroes & Prospects of 2010 1st round draft pick Jameson Taillon and 2010 2nd round draft pick Stetson Allie.  This card had a print run of 15, but is not numbered.

Pirates Top Pitching Prospects

Here's a listing of the Pirates Top 10 Prospects heading into the 2012 season by MLB.com.

1. Jameson Taillon
2. Gerrit Cole
3. Starling Marte
4. Josh Bell
5. Stetson Allie
6. Luis Heredia
7. Tony Sanchez8. Robbie Grossman
9. Jeff Locke
10. Justin Wilson

I covered Marte, Bell, and Grossman in my previous posts on outfielders of the future and have talked extensively about Tony Sanchez in the past.  Since everyone else on this list is a pitcher, I plan on talking about the Pirates top pitching prospects and some that didn't make the Top 10 overall list.  I'm not going to focus too much on Gerrit Cole or Jameson Taillon.  Their exposure over the past two seasons should speak for themselves.  Both are ranked in the top 15 of all prospects in baseball.  To the best of my knowledge, the Pirates have never had 2 pitchers rank that high. So instead of getting scouting reports on both of them, you just get to see these cards below. I am so excited to see these guys come up together and see them both become top of the rotation starters for the Pirates.

Taillon 2010 Bowman Chrome AUTO

 Taillon 2011 OBak

 Taillon 2011 Obak Oversized Box Topper (Mike Trout on back) 

numbered 9/80

Taillon 2009 UD USA Future Watch

AUTO/Jersey 555/899

Taillon 2009 UD USA By the Letter "S" AUTO 9/100

As if you couldn't tell I like to collect Jameson Taillon.  The guy has filthy pitches.

Gerrit Cole 2009 UD USA By the Letter "A" AUTO 41/100

Cole/Hosmer/Beckham 2008 OMR Draft Future Stars

Stetson Allie 2011 Heritage Minors Red Tint 355/620

Drafted in the 2nd round the same year the Pirates selected Jameson Taillon is Stetson Allie.  Allie was viewed as a 1st round talent for his radar busting heat he throws.  Despite not having much pitching experience in his career, he's still viewed as the Pirates 3rd best pitching prospect due to his upside. Allie throws hard, really really hard (clocked at up to 100MPH) but he lacks control.  In 2011 while a member of the State College Spikes (short season A ball) Allie had a monsterously high 10BB/9.  This lead to an inflated WHIP (1.88) and ERA (6.58).  Despite the lack of control, he still managed over a strikeout per inning which is a good sign.  Allie must continue to focus on his fastball control if he wishes to become a MLB starter or future closer for the Pirates. 

2011 Leaf Metal Black Valiant 4/5 AUTO

What's not to love about a 16 year old that can throw in the mid90s?  That's what many teams asked when top Latin American pitching prospect Luis Heredia became age eligible to sign.  It's far too early to project Heredia as he's barely old enough to drive in some states.  However in 30 IP in the Gulf Coast leage, Heredia racked up 23 punchouts while only surrendering 3 homeruns.  He will most likely begin the season in short season State College to continue his advance. 

Jeff Locke and Justin Wilson were part of the "Altoona 4" pitching staff that won the Eastern League Championship for the Altoona Curve in 2010.  Justin Wilson was named MVP of that series by averaging a K per inning and surrendering shoutout innings. 

Locke was aquired along with Charlie Morton and Gorkys Hernandez from the Braves farm system as part of the 2009 trade that sent beloved fan favorite Nate McLouth to Atlanta.  Locke began the 2011 season repeating in AA before a midseason promotion to AAA.  In September, Locke was called up to began his MLB career when he faced the Florida Marlins on September 10th.  Locke struggled with his command in his first 4 professional outings, but looks to be able to contend for a rotation spot when the season start should the Pirates need a spot start or injuries to the staff occur. 

Justin Wilson has been moving up the minor league 1 level per season since being drafted out of college.  He struggled in AAA Indy last year and was moved to the bullpen to finish out the year.  His fastball velocity increased once the move happened and was clocked at up to 99MPH which is incredibly hard for a lefty.  If he can work on his command, his hard throwing fastball and off speed breaking balls should enable him to see time in Pittsburgh before the year is over.


Outside of the Pirates Top 10 prospects exist guys like Kyle McPherson, Zach Von Rosenberg, Colton Cain, Trent Stevenson, and Clay Holmes.  All were selected out of high school and could project to be solid pitchers in the Pirates future.  While they don't have the pure heat of guys like Cole, Taillon, Heredia, or Allie they all show good signs.

When discussing Pirates pitching prospects who have shown success in 2011, Kyle McPherson comes to mind.  Voted the Pirates minor league pitcher of the year, McPherson started in Bradenton (A) before being promoted to Altoona (AA) to finish out the year.  During his breakout campaign in 2011, McPherson controlled the strike zone very well, averaging just a hair under 8K/9 while maintaining a 1.02 WHIP.  He will continue to develop in AAA and may see time in Pittsburgh by the end of the 2012 season.

 ZVR 2010 Tristar Opak AUTO 27/50

ZVR 2010 Tristar Pursuit Green AUTO 24/25

 ZVR 2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition AUTO 384/770

Zach Von Rosenberg or ZVR as I will refer to him from now is the kind of pitcher that the Pirates like to draft in recent years.  He's tall, throws hard, and is very projectable out of high school.  Despite giving up a freakishly amount of homeruns to start the 2011 season, ZVR showed great improvements during the 2nd half finishing with a 8.2 K/9.  He will most likely begin the season in playing A ball in Bradenton.

Trent Stevenson threw a very impressive 11 strikeouts per 9 innings as a junior at Brophy Jesuit Prep.  The 6-foot-6 righty struggled in West Virginia (low A) last season and was demoted to short season State College.  His command over his minor league career has been pretty good (1.92 BB/9), but he hasn't missed many bats either as hitters get an average of 1.22 HIP.  I think that if he can just retool his mechanics to better hide the ball, he will become a better pitcher and start to increase his K/9 which currently sits at only 4.4.

I've mentioned Colton Cain on this blog before and think that he is the best LHP prospect the Pirates have.  He throws in the mid90s and is a very polished pitcher despite being in only short season A ball.  If he can continue to improve and pound the strike zone, he should start moving up the system quicker.

 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Aspirations AUTO 40/100

Clay Holmes was the top pitching prep arm in Alabama entering the 2011 draft.  The Pirates had to go well over slot to sign him away from his Auburn commitment and has not yet made his minor league debut.  As a senior, he struck out 89 while pitching only 60 innings.  He has the projection to be a front of the rotation power arm due to his raw tools.  It may take a few more years for him to develop than all the other pitching prospects the Pirates have in the system, but when he hits the majors WATCH OUT!

I'm finally back & healthy

It's been a crazy couple of months for me dating all the way back to August when I was admitted to the hospital for viral meningitis then experiencing 9 days without power from Hurricane Irene. Fast forward a couple more health scares with both myself and my family and enter Snowtober.  The 6 inch snowstorm on Halloween knocked out power for my street for another 8 days.  Then the holidays came and went.  Well, I'm finally back and healthy and ready to complete ALL the trades I've promised over the past couple months.  For those of you that sent me packages, please send me your current address along with what the trade proposal was so I can finish up my end.  Thanks to all and God Bless you for your patience.

Since it's been awhile and I had many cards that needed to be added prior to my illness, I'll present a few cards on this post.

Up first is a 2011 Topps Marquee on card AUTO of Neil Walker.  This card is numbered 16/185 and features a nice standard pose of Neil holding the bat on his shoulder.  I absolutely loved the Topps Marquee line when it came out and picked up a slew of Jose Tabata & Andrew McCutchen relics/autos.  It was nice to see a Topps set contain autos & relics of current Pirates players.  No offense to Ralph Kiner, but I don't want to see him in any more sets for the forseeable future.  Neil finished the year with a vote for a golden glove, which is very surprising considering he had a -0.3 defensive WAR.  I'm not completely sold on sabremetrics though and evidently the voters aren't either because Neil performed above average in my opinion.  Offensively, Neil Walker began the season with a slam, a grand slam to be exact.  The last Pirate to hit a Grand Slam on Opening Day was Roberto Clemente. 

Neil will be a cornerstone in the Pirates future for years to come as the Pittsburgh Kid wants to bring a championship to the Steel City.

Up next is a manufactured bat barrel of Garrett Jones.  I'm not a huge fan of manufactured items, but this looks awesome.  The barrel is curved and the card is very thick.  This black bat of G.I. Jones is numbered 15/25.  My girl friend has one too and we are going to try and collect all 25.  Keep your eyes open for us, please.  Jones had a year of ups and downs.  It was announced during the off season that he would be used in a strict platoon with Matt Diaz in Right Field.  That didn't work out too well as neither Diaz or Jones could adjust to playing in a platoon role in Pittsburgh.  When Lyle Overbay completely tanked mid season and trade acquisition Derrek Lee got injured, Jones was the only suitable option at 1B.  He excelled beyond expectations in the month of August and had a Walk Off Home Run that landed in the Alleghany River.  There's no denying that Jones has a powerful left handed bat and is a presence to be feared when he's not swinging at balls in the dirt.

Here's 2 of Pittsburgh future hurlers, 2 Luis Heredia Autographs and a Stetson Allie State College Spikes jersey relic.  These 2 guys are fireballing teenagers.  Heredia was signed last year as a 16 year old with velocity up to 97MPH and great control.  Allie was a big bonus baby as he signed a multi million dollar signing bonus as a 2nd round draft pick.  Heredia, although younger, has better command of his pitches and will certainly be a front of the rotation starter in Pittsburgh in a couple years.  Allie, on the other hand, will need to work on his control in order to become a shutdown 9th inning closer.  Although Allie is still considered a starter, I suspect they will move him into the bullpen in the next year. 

Speaking of 9th inning closers, there wasn't many NL closers better than Joel Hanrahan this year as he was voted to NL All-Star game for the 1st time in his career.  Prior to the All-Star game he hadn't blown a save opportunity, had a WHIP of under 1, and an ERA around 2.00.  Ridiculous numbers!  As a matter of fact, his only blown saves for the entire year was when he was trying to pitch more than 3 outs.  Joel would like to remain in Pittsburgh, but he becomes a free agent in 2014.  It will be curious if the Pirates hold onto him in 2013 when they should be legitamely contending for the NL Central or trade him for top 10 prospects.  I hope the Hammer stays in the Burgh.

Well that's all for now. It feels good to be back.  Now I have 700+ emails to attend to.....
Until Next Time