TTM Success: Five in one day

Two Thursdays ago, I had a really nice TTM day. I arrived home from work to find five SASE’s. I’m nearly certain five in one day is a record for me.

The card featured in the first envelope has already been shown in a blog post. Austin Romine signed my 2012 Topps card. I hadn’t been able to get a success from Romine in a few attempts while he was in the minors, so this was very welcome. 

Next up, Brandon Laird signed three cards for me. I’ve gotten him in the past, and I actually asked him to keep two of the three cards I sent. He signed all three. The Obak looks nice. 

Third, we have Kyle Higashioka, a catching prospect. He signed my Bowman Chrome and Topps Heritage Minors cards.

Next, Adam Warren signed two cards. He is a good prospect who would fit in nicely in the back end of most pitching rotations in the league. If the Yanks need a spot start, he’ll probably get called on ahead of both Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos.

Last, pitching prospect Graham Stoneburner signed my Bowman Chrome. He has one of the most badass names in baseball. Look for him in the Yanks bullpen in the next few years.

So no huge names here, but all great successes.

2011 Bowman Draft team set

I picked up the Bowman Draft Yankees team set for $2.18 delivered on eBay. I like Bowman because I like prospect cards, but I don’t really understand the difference between these sets and the Bowman set that came out earlier in 2011. The prospect cards have a black border too which confuses me.

The real reason I bought this was for the Dante Bichette Jr and Justin James rookie cards…err First Bowman cards or whatever. I was looking for the Bichette but they were all about $2, so I figured I might as well get the team set for like $.18 more. The set also included Amury Sanit, Kevin Whelan, and Brandon Laird. I’ll probably use the Laird for TTM – I’ve gotten him in the past but since this is from an actual Yankee game, it would be nice to have. Not sure where Sanit is these days…he pitched a few uninspired innings for the Yanks last year but I’m pretty sure he has been DFA’s since. I just recently got Whelan’s auto, so I should be all set there.

Possible Yankees September call-ups

In the past few years, I haven't been too excited about Yankee call-ups, mostly because they were calling up a few old MLB vets for depth purposes, as opposed to top prospects as sort of an introduction to the big leagues. However, this year could certainly be different, as Jesus Montero will get the call. Additionally, one or more of the "Killer B's" could make their debut, although Brian Cashman doesn't seem to want to rush them.

Here is my opinion on who will get called up. I have no idea if any of these guys will get the call, but I expect a few of them will.

1. Hector Noesi. This is a no-brainer, as he's spent the majority of the season with the Yanks. He was sent down on Monday to make room for Freddy Garcia, so he'll be right back. His workload has been poorly manager this year, but he's thrown well for the most part. I'd like to see him be given a chance to start next spring.

2. Brandon Laird. With ARod's thumb injury, Laird should get the call. He had a cup of coffee with the Yanks earlier this year and got his first MLB hit and RBI, and I could see him playing a few games after a playoff spot is wrapped up. He offers nice insurance at third.

3. Jesus Montero. The Yanks number one prospect, he could legitimately hit his way onto the post-season roster. I'm curious to see him catch, but there's no denying that the bat is MLB-ready. I'm worried he might press at first to show that he should have been called up a long time ago, but if he doesn't, I think he could add another big bat to the line-up and possibly see some time at DH. He could be an X-factor.

4. Andrew Brackman. After a disasterous first 3/4ths of the season, he has settled into a bullpen role and has been throwing well. The huge righty is on the 40-man roster, so I don't see why he won't get the call.

5. Lance Pendleton. He also had a cup of coffee earlier in the season and will provide some depth as a mop up guy.

6. Chris Dickerson. He's spent a lot of time with the Yanks this year and has been pretty good. He'll be up and probably play a bit toward the end of games as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.

7. Aaron Laffey. He was plucked off waivers and immediately threw a few innings before being out-righted to Triple A. He'll be back and have an audition as a second lefty out of the pen.

8. Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos. Two of the young Killer B's, both have pitched well in there recent promotions to Triple A Scranton. I'm not sure we'll see either, but I'd be really excited if even one of them got the ball in the Bronx this year. If not this year, we'll certainly see each of them in NY at some point in 2012.

Congrats to Brandon Laird on his MLB debut

Congratulations to Brandon Laird on making his Major League Debut. I would love a 2011 Topps card commemorating this, but they don't do awesome Debut sets like this anymore. Brandon is a power hitting corner infielder and is the brother of Cardinals catcher Gerald Laird.

In his first plate appearance, Laird walked. The very first pitch he saw was actually behind him. He came up again an inning later and recorded an RBI single up the middle for his first big league hit. Congrats, Brandon!

TTM Success: Brandon Laird, brother of Gerald

Last week, I sent this good-looking 2011 Bowman card (courtesy of Napkin Doon) to Brandon Laird, a prospect in the Yankees system. Brandon is the brother of major league catcher Gerald Laird. He possesses a great bat that will carry him to the big leagues, as he was the Eastern League MVP last year. No small feat. He's a 3B but has played some 1B and OF this year to help give himself more options for playing in the big leagues. He had a slow start this season, but has been hitting a lot better as of late. There's a great chance we'll see him in the Bronx this September, if not sooner.

His signature is really nice. It bubbled a little which stinks, but overall it still looks nice on this card.