2010 Topps USA Baseball George Springer Triple Jersey/Autograph

I started a bit of a new collection this week with Astros outfield prospect George Springer.  I am by no means after every Springer card under the sun, but I have been thoroughly impressed with his performance and have decided it is worth my time, money, and cards to own a few of his cards.  Having USA Baseball nearby offers great opportunities to see good young players.  Honestly, I missed on Springer and did not really get into him as a player until this year.

In many ways, while Springer was playing for USA Baseball, he reminded me a lot of Pedro Alvarez.  Great college mashers with big long swings.  The results often look pretty in college while they are facing weak pitchers, but when they get into the minors the long swings mean lots of whiffs and not always the most promising baseball careers.  While Alvarez played for USA Baseball I saw him hit some pretty impressive home runs, but he had a long swing.  Springer was the same way.  Marlins draft pick, and former UNC third baseman, Colin Moran has the same thing going on.

While Springer's strikeout totals remain high while playing in the minor leagues, his on-base percentage has hovered around .400 this season.  Further, Springer has several 30 stolen base seasons under his belt in the minors.  So, while he will swing and miss quite a bit, Springer still finds his way onto base and punishes opponents with his speed and base running.  Sold?  I am, so here is the first of many George Springer cards that will walk into my collection.

2010 Topps USA Baseball George Springer Triple Jersey/Autograph

The 2010 Topps USA Baseball set is one of my favorites and features some great names.  Earlier this week I posted a pair of sweet Gerrit Coles from this set making this card my third card from the set for the week.  While I prefer the on-card autographs in the set, I still really like the looks of this card.  Three nice pieces of jersey to go along with, at the time, the UConn sluggers autograph is pretty sweet.  

The Springer autographs are not rock bottom basement steals at this point hovering in the mid teens, but considering how he is playing, there are lesser prospects with far more expensive cards.  I know that part of the problem is that Springer plays with the Astros, but I honestly do not think the team is the wreck that people make them out to be.  

Currently, the Astros are one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball and are likely to finish the season near the bottom of the standings.  However, almost all of the Astros minor league affiliates are finding success on the field with a good pool of prospects.  For example, the top two Houston affiliates, are highly competitive.  The AA affiliate in Corpus Christi won the first half title in their Texas League Division and are in first place in the second half standings.  The AAA affiliate in Round Rock sits in third place, but they are well above .500 and are only 2 games out of first.  The Astros are going to be good again in the near future and I am betting that George Springer is a big part of their future.