Hit Bull, Win Steak Part 2

The Padres made a ton of trades this off season, signed a free agent or two, and now have a completely different roster.  I am not a Padres fan, but took an interest in their dealings when they took interest in Rays outfielder, and former Durham Bull, Will Myers.  The Padres ended up completing a three team trade where the Rays landed Rene Rivera, Jake Bauers, Burch Smith, Travis Ott, and Steven Souza.  I like the five players the Rays received in the trade, and look forward to seeing them all most of them in Durham, but was a little bit disappointed that they did not get outfielder Hunter Renfroe.

I like Hunter Renfroe.  I actually thought he was going to be traded several times this off season, but it never happened.  In fact, I went out and started pricing out Hunter Renfroe cards and took to the next level of just buying one of them.  Renfroe is a good prospect and his cards are a bargain at this point.  I was really hoping to add this card into my collection of Durham Bulls/Tampa Rays autographs.  I am still going to hold onto this card and think it's a great addition to my collection.

If you are not familiar with Hunter Renfroe I will give you a quick run down.  Renfroe was the 13th overall draft pick in the 2013 amateur draft out of Mississippi State.  He was an All-American there where he showed the ability to hit for power and was a great defensive outfielder.  Renfroe has now played a year and a half of minor league baseball for the Padres and has posted a .268/.334/.467 with 27 home runs and 100 RBIs in just 172 games.  FanGraphs rates his power at a 65 on the 70/20 scale.  He should start out in Double A next year, but should advance up to Triple A at some point, and maybe even a spot in San Diego.  Although, most belief, with a crowded Major League outfield that the Majors might be difficult to crack for Renfroe this season.

and what about other Renfroe cards?  Most of his rookies and autographs are in the 2013 late season products like Bowman Chrome and Bowman Platinum.  He does have some 2014 cards too, again almost all Bowman products or Topps Heritage Minors, but they are not anything you have to rush out and pick up now.  The 2013 cards of Renfroe carry a slight premium, but I am not sure that many people are aware of the potential for Renfroe at the Major League level.

Many of his Bowman autographs are found for less than $5.  If I had to pick a sleeper, these cards are on my radar, I would try to pick up one of his Leaf autographs.  In particular I would look for:

1.  His 2013 Leaf Trinity Autographed Patch Cards.....

That's roughly $10 for a jumbo patch and autograph for someone who seems capable of hitting 30 home runs in the Majors.  Think about the players who pulled that off last year?  Would you pay $10 for a card like this of Jose Bautista?


2.  2013 Leaf Glass Cards....

These are sweet cards and it's basically the same price as the jumbo patch card above.  You cannot go wrong with either one of these cards and it's a small price to pay for the potential that Hunter Renfroe has shown in the minors during his brief year and a half stay.