NFL Draft and Minor League Prospects

Tonight is the NFL draft and I (along with likely most of you) will be watching to see who my favorite football team drafts.  The Pittsburgh Steelers have the 15th overall pick and early rumors are that they will trade the pick to a team in need of a quarterback so that Dallas can't draft Johnny Manziel.  

One player likely not to be drafted in the 1st round is Stanford Running Back, Tyler Gaffney.  Gaffney projects to be a 2nd to 5th round pick.  

2013 LEAF Draft Tyler Gaffney Purple 28/50 AUTO

I purchased the above Tyler Gaffney for $1.  It doesn't sound like a bad investment for an on card autograph of a future NFL athlete.  However, the reason I bought the card was because he was a 24th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012.  Gaffney signed with the Pirates and played one season in the minors A ball State College Spikes batting a very respective .297/.483/.441 line while swiping 11 bags over 38 games.  After the season, Gaffney returned to college for his senior season and took on the gridiron again.  He could go on to have another successful career like so many other two sport college athletes that get drafted in baseball, but return to football....or he could struggle in the NFL and be left wondering what could have been if he had stayed in baseball.

$1 BOB: Jameson Taillon Insert

Jameson Tailon cards for $1 delivered, yes please.

Does it sort of look familiar?  It should.  I grabbed a Gerrit Cole 2013 Top Prospects for a $1 also back in October.

Another Austin Meadows Major MOJO HIT!!!!

When the Pirates had the fortune of having Austin Meadows drop to them at 9th overall in the 2013 draft, I instantly went on ebay in search of some of his cards.  While I haven't had much luck at making crazy good snipes like I had hoped, I am happy to finally add another major hit to my growing PC of the Pirate Prospect.

I have to hand it to Pirates GM Neal Huntington and owner Bob Nutting for not shying away from talent in the draft just because of coveted signing bonuses.  If only the Pirates had this kind of support behind them like in the 2007 draft when they overlooked Matt Wieters for a middle reliever Daniel Moskoes (ugh!!!!).

2012 Panini USA Prime Patches 23/24

Pictured above is my prime patch of Austin Meadows from 2012 Panini USA.  It's numbered 23/24 and makes my first jersey relic of the 5 tool teenager.

Meadows had a very good first year in pro ball after a slightly rocky start.

In the Gulf Coast League he batted a .294/.399/.519 line (.918OPS) as a Center Fielder 18 year old.  Of his 47 hits, he had 11 doubles, 5 triples, and 5 homeruns while driving in 20 over the course of 43 games.  Defensively he committed 1 error, but had 3 outfield assists and 1 double play.

After the Gulf Coast League season ended, him and fellow 1st round pick Reese McGuire became members of the NY Penn-League Jamestown Jammers where he played in 5 games and hit 2 HR and batted a .529/.636/.882 line for an OPS of 1.519 while walking more than striking out.  To say this kid isn't going to be something special would be disrespectful.  From video I've seen, he's going to be one of the game's best in a few years.

If you had previously missed my post where I showed off autographs of the Pirates recent draft picks in Team USA gear, click this link to see autos of Cole, Taillon, McGuire, and Meadows.

Last minute road trip gets me 3 autographs of top prospects

A last minute idea for a road trip caused me to stop in Lakewood, NJ on Sunday August 11th to see the Phillies and Pirates A- ball teams collide.  The West Virginia Power (Pirates) were finishing up their road trip against the Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) and had won the previous 2 games of the series.  On paper, the Power should have came out swinging some big bats as the BlueClaws starter had issues throughout the season.  I got to the stadium around 4 pm for the 5:05 start and gates opened shortly after my arrival.  After finding my seat, I went to the 3rd base dugout to seek out some autographs.

Many players stopped by but I only had cards for 2 players on me and a cheap "official league" ball on hand.  Rather than get the ball signed by the entire team I held onto it waiting for certain players I wanted to display in my collection.  

Up first was 2013 Futures Game All-Star Dilson Herrera.  Dilson was extremely fan friendly signing close to a dozen cards for one guy and signing until everyone in the surrounding area got autographs.  He signed my ball right on the sweet spot.

From a distance I could see Tyler Glasnow signing and went into a little bit of a geek mode as I think Glasnow has the potential to be as good as the Pirates top pitching prospects (Cole and Taillon).  Tyler is only 19 years old and is dominating in A ball.  Through 97 innings pitched he has given up only 53 hits and has a 2.75 Strikeout to Walk ratio (140:51).  He only has a 2.50 ERA with an 8-3 record.  Not bad stats for a 19 year old in his first taste of full season ball.

As the game was getting ready to start, Josh Bell came over to sign for a bunch of fans as well.  When I first got there he told a couple fans he would be back to sign before the game and that he had to get loose first.  So often is the case with top prospects that they don't actually come back to sign for everyone.  Josh was the exception.  He signed cards, ticket stubs, balls, hats, photos, etc until everyone was taken care of.  He doesn't have a long name to sign for, but his signature is clean.  No squiggly signs or anything like that.  Also he was doing number inscriptions on everything he signed.  

2012 Leaf National Young Stars IP AUTO 

2013 Topps Pro Debut IP AUTO

Above are the 2 cards that Josh had signed for me before the game.  Below is the ball signed by all 3 of the Pirates top prospects.

Tyler Glasnow #24
Josh Bell #2

Dilson Herrera #31

2013 Bowman Inception Barret Barnes

Last month I showed off 3/4 of my 2013 Bowman Inception collection.  I showed the Alen Hanson, Gregory Polanco, and the sweet dual auto of the two top prospects.  In addition to those three cards I also grabbed a Barrett Barnes auto from Inception.

2013 Bowman Inception Barrett Barnes

This is my second on card auto of the young outfielder.  Earlier in the year I showed my 2012 Bowman Sterling auto I grabbed for less than $3.

Barnes is having a decent season as a 21 year old in A ball.  He's currently on the 7 day DL and hasn't played since July 23rd.  However in 46 games, he was batting .268/.338/.399 as a speedy centerfielder (10SB) with a little bit of pop (5HR and 24 RBI).  Barnes profiles with a ceiling of 20/20 potential and above average glove in centerfield.  The Pirates have a lot of depth in the outfield and I suspect that Barnes may eventually be included in a trade for a veteran player.  He was the Pirates compensation pick for losing Ryan Doumit to free agency in 2011.

Prospect Profile: Alen Hanson

For the first time in over a decade the Pittsburgh Pirates have a core nucleus in place at the major league level and some promising prospects on the horizon.  The upper levels of the minor league system feature power arms that will be ready to help the major league club this season while the lower levels feature toolsy players ready to join the team in 2-3 years.  Once a month I will profile one of the Bucs intriguing prospects and highlight some of the cards I own of that player.

This month's Pirate Prospect Profile is on Alen Hanson

Hanson is an interesting player to highlight.  He wasn't even considered to be one of the Pirates top 20 prospects heading into the 2012 season, but emerged with a breakout season last year as a 19 year old playing in short season A ball.  He's currently ranked the 54th best prospect by MLB.com and 61st by Baseball America.

2012 Leaf Memories AUOT 10/25

When I saw that Leaf was able to get Alen to be part of their 2012 Memories Autograph line, I knew I would have to add a card to the collection.  I put what I thought was a really high bid to ensure that I would win the auction.  Evidently, the person I was bidding against thought to do the same thing and the limited print run (25 made) stickered auto card of the young shortstop went for $37.  Looking at similar completed listings though I guess I didn't overpay too much as many others have been sold for similar prices.

Hanson also appeared as part of Bowman's Best which I managed to grab this diecut for just over $2.

Far and away this Bowman Sterling is my favorite of the bunch though as the parallel just looks awesome in black and gold.

2012 Leaf RIZE of the Prodigy Print Proof 94/100

I recently grabbed this Rize Inaugural Edition Proof of the young shortstop also.

Hanson is currently playing in A ball as a 20 year old shortstop.  He has a batting line of .289/.346/.446 which means his OPS is .792.  That's a very strong line for a middle infielder who just turned 20.  Take away his terrible April start in which he batted only .255 and he would have an average over .300 and an OPS around .900.  Add in the fact that he has 5 HR and 20SB through only 72 games and you're looking at a future top of the lineup hitter and top prospect.

Prospect Prizes: Gregory Polanco Onyx Platinum AUTO

Once in awhile, I will show off a really nice card from one of the Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.  I will call this feature of my blog Prospect Prizes.  

Today's prize is a 2013 Onyx Platinum (ON CARD) AUTO of Gregory Polanco inscribed with his jersey number.  

I grabbed this card off ebay for just shy of $20 and if Polanco keeps producing like he's capable of, it will be a steal.

Last year, Gregory Polanco had a ridiculously good season at West Virginia putting himself and team mate Alen Hanson on people's radar as some of the game's top prospects.  Polanco started the 2013 season in Bradenton, but didn't stay there long as he was quickly promoted to AA Altoona where he's continuing to hit the crap out of the ball.  His 2013 line for the year is .309/.370/.464 with an OPS of .833, 8 HR, and 28SB.  Did I mention he has a 1.000 fielding percentage AT CENTER FIELD in AA?

In 2009, the Pirates brought up Andrew McCutchen.  In 2012, Cutch 2.0 aka Starling Marte arrived on the scene.  I wouldn't be at all shocked in Cutch 3.0 Gregory Polanco arrives next year.  

2013 Onyx Platinum Prospects 57/300

The ebay seller was kind to include another Pirates Prospect card from the 2013 Onyx set for me free of charge.  I don't know much about Wei-Chung Wang, but he's a 21 year old right hander from Taiwan that is pitching for the Gulf Coast Pirates.  He's only thrown 12 innings professionaly, but has 16 strikeouts in those 12 innings.  

More Gerrit Cole Goodies

Gerrit Cole is fricking good!!!!
He's had a few rough starts as of late, but other than that I can't say enough good things about the future arm in the Pirates rotation.  He'll likely be up by the end of June and could be a key piece to the Pirates finishing above .500 baseball for the first time in 20 years.

I managed to snag a 2012 Bowman Futures Game jersey relic of the young hard throwing righty for $8.

89/199

My journey for Gerrit Cole doesn't end with one jersey card though...

I've been on a streak of buying Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon autographs like crazy.  I managed to grab a 4 card lot of Gerrit Cole autographs (2 were numbered to 99) for less than $40.  Less than $10 a card for on card autographs of (hopefully) a future ace.  Hell yes!!!!

2011 Leaf Valiant Blue AUTO 6/99

2011 Leaf Draft AUTO 

2011 Leaf Draft "Refractor" AUTO 48/99

The real highlight of this post is that I was able to meet Gerrit Cole at a Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (minor league Phillies) vs. Indianapolis Indians game.

Gerrit was extremely generous to the fans asking for autographs.  He went around and signed photos, balls, posters, cards, for anyone that dangled something in front of him as he came out of the walkway to the clubhouse.

Here's my OMLB signed by Gerrit.  It's a shame it's not on the sweet spot, but when I asked if he could sign it there, he laughed and said "I'll probably get in trouble if I do."  I guess Mr. Boras doesn't want his agents signing for free on the sweet spot of baseballs.  Oh well...I still love the fact that Gerrit was signing before the game 

It's not complicated...

We've all seen those AT&T commercials where "it's not complicated".
I can't promise that I'll discuss strapping a cheetah to your grandma's back or an island full of candy in this post, BUT it's not complicated....saving money is better than not saving money.

A few months ago, I went on a Jameson Taillon buying spree.  I just had a feeling that he would further elevate his status as an elite prospect.  By saving some round objects of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, I cashed them in for two paper versions of Hamilton and Jackson.  Yup the cards you see below were picked up for only $30.

2009 UD USA Baseball Inscriptions AUTO "Til I Collapse"

2011 ITG Autograph Heroes & Prospects

2009 UD USA Winning Materials JERSEY 44/499

2011 ITG Heroes & Prospects In the Game Lumbergraphs AUTO

Granted none of the cards are of the future ace wearing a Bucs uniform, but for 3 signatures and a jersey relic, I'll take em for $30 every chance I get.

Feeling Blue

Today was a really lousy day.  I've been having trouble breathing again so I went to the doctor last week for some blood work.  This week I had more blood work done along with an X-Ray.  I was diagnosed with a blood disorder called polycythemia.

I'm feeling down so I thought I would share my feelings in blue cards that make me actually happy.

Jameson Taillon is one of the top 15 prospects in baseball.  Him and Gerrit Cole should be quite the pitching duo for the Bucs for many years to come.  This is a part of Jameson's 2012 All-Star Futures Game jersey.  The card is number 6/25.

Continuing the blue theme is a jersey swatch of Andrew McCutchen's All-Star game jersey from 2012 Topps.  

 And to close things out I have a 2010-11 Luxury Suite Marc-Andre Fleury jersey and stick relic card.  This beauty is numbered 82/100.

Pirates prospect auto for pennies

Duke Welker was selected in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft.  His fastball can reach up to the mid to high 90s, but has shown command issues.  As a 26 year old pitching in AA and AAA last year he posted a 2.29 ERA with 49 punch outs in 55 innings.  He doesn't allow many hits 7 hits per 9, but does allow plenty of baserunners by walking a ridiculous 4.1 per 9.  He will be competing for a bullpen spot this spring, but will most likely enter the season back at AAA.

I won this card for 86 cents shipped

McCutchen Monday on MLB Draft day

I'm going to be getting ready to watch the MLB draft in a couple hours and am really looking forward to it.  As a Pirates fan, it's one thing we always look forward to each year.  The 2005 draft was loaded with talent and the Pirates selected from Fort Meade, Florida a young man known as Andrew McCutchen.  Cutch worked his way up the ranks to make his debut in 2009.  He hasn't slowed down yet.

The 2012 Topps Tribute card above makes me laugh when I see Cutch's face.  Baseball players sure do make some goofy ass faces when throwing a ball.  That seems like a fun future post.

The Bucs select 8th overall tonight.  Hopefully they draft an impact player like Cutch is.

UPDATE:
Stetson Allie, the highly touted flame throwing pitching prospect the Pirates selected in the 2nd round of 2010 has been converted to a 3B.  After walking 8 batters in 2/3 of an inning this year, the Pirates organization has decided to pull the plug on the Allie experiment and just let him hit HR.  Coming out of high school Allie was a 2 way player.  He had a fast ball that could reach triple digits with ease and could also hit towering homeruns.  He instantly becomes one of the top power bats in the organization now.

In another move, the Pirates have promoted 2009 1st round draft pick Tony Sanchez to AAA. 

Pirates Future Outfield pt3

Concluding my posts on the future of the Pirates outfield where I have already looked at Robbie Grossman and Starling Marte, I will now take a look at 2011 2nd round draft pick Josh Bell.  Josh Bell was seen as a top 10 talent in the 2011 draft, but sent out a letter to teams stating he intended to go to college and did not want to be drafted.  With the 1st pick of the 2nd day, Pirates GM Neal Huntington selected Josh Bell with the intent to get him signed.  Recognizing that the new CBA rules would limit the amount of money the Pirates could spend in the amateur draft, the Pirates figured that worst case scenario they would have a protected pick for the 2012 class.

In the final seconds of the signing deadline the Pirates announced that they had agreed to a $5 million signing bonus with Bell.  It was the largest signing bonus ever given to a 2nd round draft pick.  This has lead to many of the large market teams saying it was unfair what the Pirates did.  I say thanks for paying 2/3 of AJ Burnett's salary to those large market teams. 

 Josh Bell 2011 Elite Extra Edition Elite Series AUTO 48/50

I think that the new CBA rules lack any sense of reasonability though.  The Pirates in 2011 had the 8th worse record in all baseball, but get the 16th most draft pool money.  How is that fair?  Every team in their division gets more money to allocate towards the draft including the World Series Champions St. Louis Cardinals.  Personally, I think Bud Selig just has it out for the Pirates.  That's the end of my rant.

Josh Bell 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition AUTO 136/692

We now return to our regularly scheduled program.  Pirates Future Outfielders Part 3
Josh Bell profiles as a power switch hitting right fielder.  In his senior season at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Bell hit .548 with 54 RBI and 54 Runs scored while only striking out 5 times in 147 plate appearances.  He also hit 14 HRs his senior season.  His bat should enable him to move up the ladder quickly through the minors and could be major league ready by the end of 2014 (one year before Andrew McCutchen becomes  a free agent).

Both of the above pictured autographed cards were the most expensive cards I have ever bought of a Pirates prospect before they took one professional swing or pitch.  However, I feel so strongly that Josh Bell is going to be ridiculously good and may be an All-Star for many years to come. 

I'm looking forward to seeing all of the Pirates athletic outfielders in the future.  Now if they could only improve the pitching....

Join me this weekend as I look at some of the Pirates top arms in the farm system.

Pirates Future Outfield pt2

Continuing where I left off yesterday, I'm going to take a look at another young outfielder that could join Starling Marte in the future outfield for the Pirates.  That individual is none other than Robbie Grossman.  While many suspect that his upside isn't that high, Grossman's continued progress throughout his minor league career suggests that he has huge upside when developed properly.  Keith Law ranked Grossman 86th overall while MLB.COM didn't have him ranked in the top 100.

Robbie Grossman was selected in the 6th round of the 2008 draft out of high school.  He began his career in A- ball and showed that he was outmatched striking out 164 times with only 28 extra base hits and 75 walks.  The following year, he began in A ball for the Bradenton Marauders.  While not great numbers he showed improvement in all areas especially plate discipline.  In 2011 he repeated in Bradenton as a 21 year old which as an age appropriate level.  He thrived and became the first player to have 100 runs scored and 100 walks in a season since Nick Swisher.  We all know that Swisher is one of the better OF in the game now so that's a great sign for Grossman.

Here's a look at his development over the past three seasons
2009- 164 K/ 75 BB/ 28 XBH
2010- 118 K/ 66 BB/ 36 XBH
2011- 111 K/ 104 BB/ 49 XBH

He also shows signs of a smart baserunner swiping nearly 20 bags each season in the minors.  20/20 potential is certainly within his limit at this pace. 

2012 will be a huge year in terms of understanding what Grossman's ceiling is.  He will receive a non roster invitation to Spring Training this year so the Pirates front office heads were obviously turned by last year's numbers.  In addition to dominating in Bradenton, he continued to mash in the Arizona Fall League.  I suspect Robbie will begin in AA and earn a promotion to AAA if his numbers are strong enough.  He may become a useful bench player for the Pirates come September as Grossman is also a switch hitter.

Only time will tell what Grossman is truly capable of on the field.

Pirates Future Outfield pt1

Looking into the crystal ball can be a little scary to think about fan favorite free agents leaving after only 6 years with a team especially if you're a "small market" team like the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Part of the Pirates biggest issue in the past two decades was not having a core in place with a development plan for succession after free agency hits.  Starting pitching has also been a HUGE problem, but more on that in a later post.

The Pirates currently have one of the fastest and youngest outfields in all of baseball, but it's also one of the most drained for power too.  Only Andrew McCutchen looks like he could become a 20 HR guy.  However, the havoc that Jose Tabata, Alex Presley, and McCutchen can cause on the base paths could mean lots of fastballs to guys like Pedro Alvarez and Garrett Jones.  This could result in lots of stolen bases for the 3 mentioned outfielders and 450 foot blasts coming from Jones and Alvarez. 

But...what happens in 2015 when Andrew McCutchen becomes a free agent after the final game of the World Series?  Will he still be in Pittsburgh through that time?  I suspect not, and that saddens me greatly since he's my favorite active player on any team in any sport. 

Fret not though, cause there's lots of hope coming up from the minors and at least one of them should be ready for a big league callup by midseason 2012. 

The first to appear in Pittsburgh will most likely be Starling Marte, who is currently ranked 40th on MLB's top 100.  Marte won the Eastern League batting title in 2011 when he batted .332 for the (AA) Altoona Curve as a 22 year old.  Marte was on a great path in 2010 also, but was injured with a broken hammate bone. 

In 2011 he was elected to participate in the 2011 Futures Game to represent the World Team. He batted 1 for 3 in the game.  In case you're wondering, yes that's a 1/1 Logoman patch from 2011 Bowman pictured above.  

Marte has 5 tool potential and could eventually be the guy that pushes Andrew McCutchen to a corner outfield position.  He takes good routes in the outfield and has incredible arm strenth.  Last year he threw a ball in from the outfield to the catcher and the radar gun was left on.  It clocked his throw at over 100MPH.  That shit is crazy.  He won't hit for a ton of power but could be a 15HR guy which is nice at an elite position like CF.  He's a smart baserunner and could swipe up to 30 bags a year.  On top of that his slugging percentage hovers around .500 each season.  I suspect that he will stretch a lot of singles into doubles throughout his career.  His only drawback is that he doesn't walk a lot.  He has only 73 walks in over 1,400 at bats in his minor league career.  

I'm going to try and pick up as many Marte cards as possible now before he becomes the next Roberto Clemente and prices on his cards sky rocket.  Ok, maybe he won't be the next Roberto Clemente, but his tools show that he may have upside of Clemente.  Also, Clemente didn't take many free passes throughout his career.  By Clemente's age 22 season he had accumulated only a bit over 70 walks in his minor and major league career over 1,800 at bats.  Marte had 73 in a bit over 1,400. 

I don't know what the future may bring Starling Marte and the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I do know it's going to be fun to watch him play in PNC Park in the future especially when you combine him and the two guys I will feature tomorrow.

Pirates Prospect Profile: Gorkys Hernandez

Today, I will highlight one of the Pirates lesser known prospects.

Gorkys Hernandez (Altoona Curve)

2010 Topps Pro Debut series 2

All-Star Futures Game Jersey gold border numbered 11/25

Gorkys Hernandez came to the Bucs as part of the 2009 Atlanta trade that sent fan favorite Nate McLouth away.  I still laugh at that trade because it was basically a 2 1/2 year free rental for players like Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, and Gorkys Hernandez.  Nate is back with the Pirates for less than a quarter what he was making in Atlanta.  Oh sweet irony.

Getting back to the scouting report on Gorkys.  The guy can flat out field.  He is currently the Pirates best defensive outfielder in the system and has been since the day he got traded from Atlanta.  The one time Tigers prospect will be turning 24 this year so he will need to improve his plate discipline more (4:1 k/bb rate).  He also will never hit for power.  He only has 6 homeruns in over 1,200 at bats since joining the Pirates minor league system.  He could however prove a useful role similiar to what Xavier Paul did for the Pirates last year.  Possibly being a defensive replacement or pinch runner late in games.  The Pirates have so much talent coming in the next couple years in regards to athletic outfielders that I wouldn't be surprised to see Gorkys get traded as part of a package to land a pitcher. 

Prior to the 2011 season Gorkys was ranked 15th on the Pirates prospects list.  That number has since dropped with the acquisitions of Gerrit Cole, Josh Bell, Clay Holmes, and Alex Dickerson.  Not to mention breakout performances by Kyle McPherson and Matt Curry.