Thursday, May 24, 2018

Team USA Autographs pt1

To celebrate Memorial Day Weekend I thought I would show off a few players that I have modest Team USA collections of.

Up first is none other than my main PC, Andrew McCutchen

I only have 2 cards signed by Cutch of his Team USA youth teams.  I will be showcasing some Team USA cards on my main blog Collecting Cutch this weekend.

Here is an awesome hat patch though

Other players I will be showcasing are Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Austin Meadows, Ke'bryan Hayes, and Cole Tucker.

Monday, May 7, 2018

My First Auto From The ColeTrain trade

Gerrit Cole has been absolutely ridiculous this year for the Houston Astros.  He along with former Pirates teammate Charlie Morton are creating one of the best rotations in baseball with Verlander, Keuchel, and McCullers.  When the rumors were circulating that Cole might be on the block I wanted to see the Pirates get a good haul back for the 2011 number one overall pick.  After all, the Bucs had to lose 100 games in 2010 to get the right to draft the former UCLA star.

So far the pieces acquired from the Astros have been performing well, albeit none at an elite level like Cole is.

Colin Moran is batting .278 with two homeruns and 15 RBI with an OPS nearing .800.

Michael Feliz, who took over Cole's number 45, has struck out 19 batters in 14 innings while posting an ERA of 3.21 in 16 appearances out of the bullpen.

Jason Martin, a twenty two year old outfielder, has been hitting the hell out of the ball in AA Altoona.  He currently has an OPS of .899 with 2 HR and 4 triples in 22 games.  He could be an interesting prospect to keep your eyes on as he continues to develop.

Joe Musgrove, who was used as a starter and long man in the Astros bullpen last year, will begin his rehab starts today.  I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do as I think he will be a valuable piece to the Pirates retooling of the roster over next few seasons.

Even though he has yet to make his Pirates debut, Panini put him in their Diamond Kings release as a member of the Pittsburgh baseball club.  This blue foil autograph ran me $5.20 for my winning bid.  Not a bad price to pay for a card numbered to only 25 copies.

As always, I love the look and design of Diamond Kings.