Minor League Goodness

How long has it been since I have done a write up on a new, current year, set that I have written up in blog post form?  I am actually not entirely sure, but I know its probably been five to six months.  I love putting together sets, but I have been a little bit lost/uninterested in a lot of the base sets this year.  The topic deserves its own post, maybe over Thanksgiving break next week I will find the time.

I have a hard time passing up Minor League baseball cards.  About a month ago Topps put out one of their two products which feature players from their Minor League uniforms.  Obviously there are Durham Bulls cards, but I can also find cards of the other players I see at Minor League games, as well as a few younger players who previously appeared at USA Baseball.

Heritage Minors has the same borrowed 1968 Topps design as the Major League version of the Heritage set.  I like the commonly held opinion that this set design looks like a burlap sack.  I still have a few favorite base cards.  Really, it's just a pair of Durham Bulls cards and a player with a connection to the Cardinals.

First up the two Durham Bulls.

Adames is widely considered the Rays best prospect.  The middle infield is crowded in Tampa, but young cheap talent always wins out there, so Adames is going to get a chance in the Majors sooner than later.  He was originally signed by the Tigers, but the Rays picked him up in the David Price trade.  Topps has only started putting him in their Minor League products the last two years, even though he was been a highly regarded prospect for a several years now.

Honeywell is the other Durham Bulls card I am going to give a little love.  First, I like the alternate jersey on the card.  The Bulls have now been a Rays affiliate for 20 years.  This season they wore a Rays inspired Bulls jersey several times.  Kind of a cool mash-up of the two uniforms.

I am intrigued by Honeywell.  He's another top Rays prospect, probably their best Minor League pitcher for the moment.  He throws a screwball.  I am kind of skeptical about how that will work out in the long term.  Is it just me, or has there been a serious lack of screwball pitchers since Fernando Valenzuela?  

My last base card is Padres infield prospect Fernando Tatis Jr.  If you weren't sure about his relationship to the Cardinals, long time baseball writer Jon Heyman had a gem of a tweet about this in the middle of the summer.

Just in case you had any lingering doubts.  He's only 18 and in A Ball, but the numbers have been impressive for such a young player.  Last year he hit 21 home runs, 26 doubles, stole 29 bases, and had an on base percentage near .400.  

Fort Wayne Tincaps.  Hilarious.

I also pulled out a base card variation.  You know Topps always has to make these things and make them nearly impossible to find.  This one is actually pretty clear.....

that the first name is missing from the front of the card.  Zack Collins is a pretty well thought of catching prospect for the White Sox, plus one time he dropped a ball on a tag play that let NC State get into the ACC Baseball Championship Game.

A few other things that come in boxes of baseball cards.  Two jersey cards.  

Alex Verdugo is kind of a meh card.  I really like Christin Stewart though.  He hits for powers and draws a lot of walks.  Like the brown jersey swatch from the Futures Game last year.  

Moving along.  

I like these disc inserts which are based on a 1968 Topps test issue.  The set is half mascots and half players.  Just something different.  My favorite mascot, Wool E. Bull, did not make the cut for this insert set, but does make an appearance elsewhere.  

Last two cards for today. 

P.J. Conlon is a Mets prospect.  Not a huge fan.  Bobby Dalbec was drafted by the Red Sox out of the University of Arizona.  I saw him play with USA Baseball a few years back.  The power is impressive, I think he can be an everyday Major League player.  

Two-Thirds Of A Jumbo

I have taken a pass on buying any boxes of Bowman this year.  Not changing my mind for anything, but I will still end up with the set at some point in the near future.  While I am collecting a few less sets this year Bowman is still a staple set for me.  It someways I feel like I am missing out on the fun by just skipping ahead and buying a set from someone.  At the same time I can spend more time and money finding single cards from the set, or other sets later this year.

Or the cards that I am missing from sets I am putting together on the top tab.

I have already picked up two autographs from this year's Bowman set that I picked up in a trade last week.  One Rays/Durham Bulls card and one Cardinals card.  The jumbo boxes that I am skipping out on come with three autographs, but they seem to be a little pricey for whatever reason this year....

That says $199.95 if you cannot squint your eyes to read the price.  I can get some pretty nice cards for $200 even if I set aside something like $40 to buy a set.  Well, I have two-thirds of that jumbo box, I haven't spent $40 for a set yet, but I do have two cool autographs to show for my efforts....

Let's start with the Cardinals autograph.

Alcantara signed as a teenager with the Cardinals.  He has been around for a few years, and if you just look at the numbers on the stat sheet, you'd probably not think too much about him as a prospect.  Except Alcantara is one of those really raw players who is becoming more polished with time and throws in the high 90s.  His best stat is that he strikes out slightly more than a batter per inning.  I will file this card away and check back in two years or so....

Next is my Durham Bulls card.  

Honeywell started out the year in Double A Montgomery, but has been promoted to Durham a few weeks back.  He's had a bit of a rough start in Triple A, but I like Honeywell regardless....

He's a bit of a throwback player in that he is the first pitcher I can remember since Fernando Valenzuela to throw a screwball.  The screwgy.  

Pretty hard to not like this guy based on that one pitch in his arsenal.  I have still not seen Honeywell in person, but I intend to do so sometime during the next home stand.  Assuming Honeywell has not been called up, sent down, or something else.  

Meanwhile, I need to go out and find another autograph.  Still a few more Durham Bulls and Cardinals players with autographs in Bowman for me to track down.