2011 Bowman Platinum Starlin Castro Jersey/Autograph

I have been expecting Starlin Castro's card value to come down.  Any day now.  Seriously.  It's not just because he is a Cub and I have a strong dislike for the team.  There is something about him that I just do not like watching.  For some reason I find several collector's who agree with me and have a Starlin Castro autograph of some variety they are willing to part with at a low cost.  I always take them up on the trade because as sure as I can find a Starlin Castro autograph, I can find someone who will pay full value in cash or trade for the card.

2011 Bowman Platinum Starlin Castro Jersey/Autograph

Perplexed, I have decided that for once I will hold on to this Starlin Castro autograph.  This is at least the fourth or fifth one that I have owned over the past two years.  Am I missing something that with him that I should be impressed by on the field?  I decided to consult my good friend baseball-reference.com.

A quick glance at his year to year stats show that his power production has risen and he might have also finally mastered the concept of throwing the ball to the first baseman and not some dude sitting behind the dugout.  However, there are some serious alarm bells there too.  Examples, 16 walks in 400 plus plate appearances, an OBP of .305, and a stolen base percent hovering in the 60s.  His comparables, at 21, are still favorable.  There are four Hall of Famers on the list including Rogers Hornsby.  However, if one removes the age restrictions his similar hitters include Mike Aviles, Mike Caruso, and Cliff Pennington.  Yikes.

The gap between Cliff Pennington and Rogers Hornsby is pretty steep and if Castro turns out to be ordinary many card collectors will be out some nice change or cards they traded for Castro.  I am going to join everyone else in owning a Castro card.