Yes, 2020 Cards.

I have not been posting many cards from current releases, mainly because I am not doing anything to collect them this year.  I have not bought many packs or boxes of cards, and I think I am not even really touching current single cards either.  I was actually going to buy a pack of Topps Series 2 at the store a few days back, but I found out that there are none because everyone has gone crazy about finding a Luis Robert rookie card.

I have been buying Luis Robert cards ever since the Cardinals went cheap on trying to sign him.  They had plenty of money for Dexter Fowler though. 

Back to baseball cards. 

I have collected so few single 2020 cards, really there were all sorts of different places I could have started.  I feel like one thing that is really dampening my enthusiasm for current year cards is the fact that there is not going to be any Minor League Baseball this summer.  No new Bulls players to collect with many of the players on last year's team stuck in limbo with either being a pool player, or many not even getting that far. 

So, I decided a few Minor Leaguers would be a good place to start. 

First up is a pair of autographs from Topps Pro Debut. 

I have posted a few other Brock Deatherage cards last year, and I am really surprised that he made it back into a set this year.  The Tigers drafted him out of NC State.  I get the feeling he might be on baseball cards because of his name.  He's not on any Tigers prospect list, and he hit in the .220s last season with almost 150 strikeouts and not a lot of power. 

Still like him since he went to NC State. 

Next. 

I have been working on Elehuris Montero cards the last several years too.  Last year was a lost year with injuries for him, but he hit for average and power the prior year while he was in A Ball.  The Cardinals included him in their group of pool players.  Maybe a summer with Jose Oquendo, who is running the Minor League camp for the Cardinals, will help him bounce back next year.  The scan is not crooked, the sticker autograph is though.  

Last card that I actually bought in this post.  

Will Wilson is another NC State player, but definitely a prospect worth watching.  The Angels traded him to the Giants last year, and he is in their group of pool players.  He's a shortstop who can hit.  In college, he hit a fair number of home runs, but I could see him being more of a doubles and triples hitter in the Majors.  Trea Turner without the speed.  

Which brings me to the last two cards I received in this package.  I bought all three cards from the same buyer.  Love that combined shipping.  I also love free cards.  My feedback involved the acronym "GDTBATH", which stands for "Great Day To Be A Tar Heel", so it figures that this was one of my free cards....

I fully support Andrew Miller having a good year.  The Cardinals excel at spending money on relievers who are washed up.  Andrew Miller seems washed up.  I actually saw him pitch while he was at UNC, very good in college.  

Second freebie, which I don't get coming from a UNC person.  

Stroman is a better pitcher than Andrew Miller, and a far more interesting person.  I certain he grates on UNC fans nerves at times too, so added bonus.  I actually wish I could find a card of Stroman as an infielder, which is actually where he started when he first got to Duke. 

Anyway, happy with the three new cards, and the two freebie cards in the package.  

Minors Matter

I am collecting fewer sets this year, but one I would eventually like to pick up a copy of the Heritage Minor League set.  I did not open any packs or boxes, and I am honestly thinking about just buying the complete set off of Ebay.  It costs less than a box, and while it takes the fun of opening packs out of the equation, it will also allow for some extra funds to go towards autographs or some nice inserts and parallels. 

There are actually a few autographs I have seen that fit well into my collection, they were inexpensive, so I went ahead and picked them up.  Heritage Minors always has on card autographs, so always a nice groups of cards. 

First up. 

I think this is my second Brock Deatherage autograph that I have posted on this blog, but I also think I have skipped over posting one or two others.  He is a former NC State player who was drafted by the Tigers two years ago.  He is still in the lower Minors, but is the type of toolsy player that the Tigers really need to pan out.  He has some pop in his bat, but he's more of a doubles and triple machine than a home run threat.  I believe he also came close to stealing 50 bases last year. 

Fun to watch.  Next. 

Another former NC State player, only Knizner is on the Cardinals.  He's already been up for part of this year, and I have already posted several other Knizner autographs during the summer.  Definitely happy to get this card, and happy people have cooled down with the prices of his autographs. 

Last card.  I am still not sure what to make of Elehuris Montero.  He was injured for the majority of this year, but was a sub .200 hitter when he came back.  Before this year he was a great prospect, tons of extra base hits, high slash line.  Elehuris is still only 20, so I am picking up a few of his cards here and there.  Maybe it will look good in a few years, and if not it's a nice looking card of a Cardinals prospect.  

"and my wolfpack, it grew, it grew by one"

It has been fun to watch former NC State player Andrew Knizner get some time with the Cardinals while Yadier Molina has been out with an injury.  Yadi is currently rehabbing with the Memphis Redbirds, so I suspect that Knizner's time with the Cardinals might be slowly winding down until the rosters expand in September.

There have been some good moments during his first season playing in the Majors.  My favorite has to be his first home run, which he hit against the Pirates two weeks ago.

While Andrew Knizner has been promoted to the Majors, he is still showing up on baseball cards as a Minor Leaguer; Bowman products, pictures from Spring Training, and jersey numbers that belong to an offensive line in football.  All of these accurately describe my second Knizner autograph of the year, which is out of Bowman Platinum.  

It's a sticker autograph, which I don't love, but I like that the prices of his cards have gotten a little cheaper since Topps put out Bowman.  

I picked up a second Cardinals autograph out of Bowman Platinum.  

Elehuris Montero has not had a great year, but was a pretty well thought of prospect entering the season.  He has spent a lot of time dealing with injuries, so I am hopeful he will still turn out to do something with himself.  

Some Minor Cards

It's been really hard to watch the Cardinals this season.  The pitching has been a bit of a disappointment.  The offense has been a bit of a disappointment.  Yes, they are 2 games out of first, but it is just simply because all the other teams in the N.L. Central are also bad.  All the badness makes it difficult to look at Cardinals cards.

I have not touched anything in Pro Debut, so I decided to work on finding a few Cardinals cards from the set.  These are not the Cardinals players that have been disappointing me on a seemingly nightly basis.  I am looking at you Kolten Wong.

I found three new cards.  

This is the best of the three cards.  Nolan Gorman was their first round pick last year (2018) and has hit throughout his first year in the Minors.  I am not sure if he is rated as the Cardinals best prospect, but if he is not he will be soon.  His autographs been a little pricy at times, but this one is reasonable.  I have been trying to slowly add a few of his cards, but price is a bit of a factor at this point.

Not sure about Elehuris.  People are crazy about him.  He's only 20.  He's hit everywhere he has played prior to this season.  Elehuris has been injured most of this season, but he's already on the Cardinals Double A team in Springfield.  His Bowman cards have been crazy expensive, but this one was less than $10.  Seems like a good risk.

Last one.

I saw Luken Baker play for the USA Baseball College National Team.  He has a lot of power, and also has a lot of injuries.  Really cheap card, if nothing else I picked up an autograph of a player I watched in person.  If he makes it to the Majors, I will be pleasantly surprised.