Farewell Randal

The Cardinals traded for Randal Grichuk after the 2013, picking him up from the Angels in exchange for David Freese.  Peter Bourjos and Fernando Salas were in there too.  Most Cardinals fans were excited about the trade.  The Cardinals do not really dabble in speedy players these days, quite a departure from the 1980s teams, so Bourjos was an exciting player, and Grichuk seemed like he was a good prospect with a lot of tools.

The tool most often mentioned with Grichuk upon his arrival in St. Louis was his power.  Well, also he was drafted one spot in front of Mike Trout in the 2009 MLB draft.  As a card collector, I was intrigued.  I sipped the Kool-Aid, dipped my toe into the pool, and picked up a Randal Grichuk autograph.

I had some high hopes for this card.  He was not the cheapest rookie card floating around out there, and if he were on any other team I would have passed on this card by in a second, but for a Cardinals player I was all in.  I am usually really good with buying and passing on Minor Leaguers, I completely missed here.  I was thinking as a fan of the Cardinals and not from the numbers on the stat sheer.

It was easy to get excited about Randal.  He hits home runs.

His first time up with the Cardinals for an extended period of time was in 2015.  He hit 17 home runs in just over 300 at bats.  What's not to love about that?  Sure, he struck out more than 100 times in those 300 at bats, didn't walk, but I was willing to look the other direction a little bit longer.  

Plus, he had even more cool baseball cards.  

That's a nice looking card and it cost way less than my Bowman autograph of him.  I was still feeling pretty good about the prospects of Randal hitting a lot of home runs and becoming a good player.  

Really, he was the same player the entire time.....  

even while he was in the Minors.  

Randal does hit home runs.  Randal does strike out.  That's what he does, that's what he has always done, and it's likely what he is to do when he gets to Toronto.  It's not the worst thing in the world, but at the moment the Cardinals have Tommy Pham, Marcell Ozuna, and Dexter Fowler as starters, with Harrison Bader and Jose Martinez as reserves.  They also have a few good outfield prospects in the high Minors.  

It's right there at the bottom of his stat sheet on Baseball Reference where they average out what Randal would do in a 162 games....

which seems to perfectly match what the numbers above say Randal has done during his time with the Cardinals.  

Which brings me to one more baseball card.  

I feel like this has happened before in the past with Shelby Miller.  As I recall with Shelby, I was watching a card that I wanted on Ebay, the seller had an autograph of the former Cardinals pitcher with no bids, so I typed in something just above the minimum $0.99 bid.  I won the card.  By the time it got to my mailbox, he was traded.  

So, earlier this week I was mailing out a few cards to people on Twitter.  Cleaning out the closet, take my cards kind of stuff.  Sometimes people mail me stuff back, but since I am trying to lessen the number of cards in my collection I usually try to discourage this practice. 

Welp, I had someone insist that they had a card with my name on it and it was just one card.  You already know who it is....

I must say that this is a really nice card.  Five Star cards are always quality and this is actually the Grichuk card that I am most likely to keep in the long run.  On card signature, thick card stock, cool picture of Randal with his well groomed facial hair.  It's nicer than my other two Grichuk autographs.  The card showed up Thursday and he was traded Friday, which is a better story than the other two cards.  Not sure if it's even that great of a story.  

Anyway, farewell Randal. 

Friday 5: Top Five Rookie Position Players

I have two Friday Five posts this week.  One this evening, Friday, and I will have another one tomorrow early in the morning.  Yes, it is technically Saturday, but this is interesting stuff....  This week I am going to look at some of the rookie players who are floating around MLB this year.  There have been a ton of young talented players called up this year with a wide spectrum of performance levels.  Originally I was going to make one post with the top 5 rookies, but decided to split the group into two so I could get a few more names into the conversation.  Tonight position players, tomorrow pitchers.    With a little under two months left in the season, there are going to be some great races for the Rookie of the Year Awards.

Here are my Top 5 Rookie Position Players:


5.  Kris Bryant Cubs 3B

I have always had some reservations about Bryant, most of which revolve around his contact rate.  There was a great Fan Graphs article at some point about it since the season started, but I first started paying attention to the stat a few years ago after sitting near a scout at a Durham Bulls game who was talking about it as a way to rule out players, contact does not guarantee success, who will likely wash it in the Majors.  I first saw Bryant a few years back at USA Baseball.  It is really hard not to love the way the ball jumps off his bat and not think he's going to be a tremendous power hitter for years to come.  However, it seems that the contact rate issues are starting to mount for the Cubs third baseman.  He leads the league in strikeouts and has a .141/.258/.269 slash line with just 2 home runs over his last month of play.  Still, Bryant's overall stats for the year are good with 14 home runs, an OPS+ of 118, and a WAR of 3.0.  He's still a young player with a limited amount of at-bats in the Majors and can still make some adjustments to how he is being pitched.  He makes my list, but is in real danger of falling off if I revisit this post and his performance does not improve.  Here's a look at that power.....

  

4.  Jung Ho Kang Pirates SS

Kang is in his first year in the MLB, but played for awhile in Korea before coming over this past off season.  Sometimes overseas veterans can be a little hard to figure out.  The Cardinals were in on the Kang bidding and I was not completely sold on him being an impact player.  However, he appears to be the real deal.  Kang has done a job for the Pirates this year spending time at both third and shortstop.  His overall line currently stands at .291/.362/.446 with 8 home runs, 2 triples, and 17 doubles.  I like that production out of Kang, but he has actually gotten better as the year has gone along.  During July he posted a .379/.443/.621 line with 3 home runs, and 8 doubles.  I am curious to see how the season ends for the shortstop.  He is certainly in the conversation for Rookie of Year this year.  

3.  Matt Duffy Giants 3B

Duffy has been a big surprise this year for the Giants.  He's was never a huge prospect for the Giants with a career minor league line of .304/.387/.413.  He got on base, but he has never hit for double digit home runs, and has never taken an at-bat in Triple A.  Like most baseball fans, I was not expecting much out of him when the Giants jumped him up from Double A to replace Pablo Sandoval.  So far this year, playing third base full time, Duffy has slashed .309/.346/.464 with an OPS+ of 128.  If you're a fan of WAR he actually leads all rookie position players in the statistic at 3.6.  Duffy should also be in the running for Rookie of the Year, but I just do not hear his name get dropped very often in that conversation.  Perhaps I am conversing with the wrong people.

2. Randal Grichuk Cardinals OF 

This spring Cardinals manager Mike Matheny compared Randal Grichuk to a Lamborghini.  I laughed.  Grichuk seemed like a tools player, but he also spent the last year bouncing between the Cardinals fourth outfield spot and Memphis.  There were some great moments for Grichuk last year, like hitting a home run off of Clayton Kershaw in the playoffs, but also lots of frustrations.  He struck out 31 times in 110 at bats, had an OBP of .278, and only walked 5 times.  This season Grichuk has just over 250 at bats with a slash line of .288/.336/..572, 40 extra base hits, and an OPS+ of 144.  He's a fun player to watch and Cardinals fans rave about his skills, especially his bat, but I need to see a little bit more before I am completely sold on Randal Grichuk.  So, why did I put him ahead of the other players if he's not a slam dunk?  I think he and Bryant actually have the highest ceiling on this list.  Kang is approaching 30, Duffy is going to be a high average/high on base with a little pop, but Grichuk and Bryant could both be something special.  They just happen to be trending in opposite directions at the moment.  He would be my pick to win the NL Rookie of the Year at the moment.  

1. Carlos Correa Astros SS

I am going out on a limb here by saying that Correa will win the American League Rookie of the Year.  He has fewer at-bats than anyone on this list, but has a slash line of .291/.345/.567 with fourteen doubles, fourteen home runs, 8 steals, and an OPS+ of 148.  Correa was the first overall draft pick by the Astros back in 2012 and has the potential to be exactly what teams hope to get out of having that first overall pick: A franchise player.  There are not too many good offensive shortstops left in the game, but Correa looks like he is going to be a great one for years to come.  At just 20 years old we are likely in for a long run out of Carlos.  I am guessing it's going to look pretty nice at the end assuming he stays healthy.  

Ninety-nine, Ninety-nine

I did not pay that much for this cool Randal Grichuk autograph out of Panani's new National Treasures product, but after picking the card out of my mailbox the other day and seeing the serial number it remind me of an awesome advertiser on Cardinals television and radio broadcasts.  First the card:

------------------------------------------Hype about the card--------------------------------------------------------

It's got that cool acetate piece in the middle which is so much nicer than the sticker autographs.  True, the card is still not signed on the actual card, but kudos to Panini for coming up with a creative and classy looking way to make off-card signatures look a little bitter better....back to the story.....

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Everyone in St. Louis knows the name Ray Vinson and his awesomely obnoxious commercials.  Here is a print version of one.......

Ray's catch phrase is 99, 99.  From the last four digits of his phone number to the amount of money he donates to Cardinal Care for the team turning a double play, it's hard to spend a day listening to the radio or watching television in St. Louis without seeing a gem from Mr. Vinson.  Worse is hearing Cardinals radio announcer Mike Shannon say it after a couple of cold frosty ones.  Given Mr. Vinson's actually business history and personal history, I am always shocked when I go home for a few weeks and see that he is still in business and still advertising with the Cardinals.  Surely there is someone better, less shady, who would be more than willing to buy some airtime during Cardinals games.

In the meantime the math on this one is clear:

Grichuk 99/99 > Ray Vinson $99.99 

A Trip to Big D's Card Shop

My computer is throwing a temper tantrum over the new OS Mavericks update so for tonight, or until I get all the kinks ironed out, I have pictures more than scans.  I stopped in at my favorite local card, Big D's, in Raleigh for a little down time on Sunday afternoon.  I had completed a trade with Jimmy, the shop's owner, earlier in the week and wanted to take him in his half of the trade as well as collect my half of the trade too.  You know you cannot just go into the shop and just finish a trade.  I bought a few other things while I was there too.  So, here's the run down.

I actually picked up a few vintage cards.  Vintage like 70s.  A nice Templeton, Hernandez, two early Bob Forsch cards and also a few old Hostess cards from the early 1980s.  

Garry Templeton is looking snarky in that card.  It's clearly a Spring Training card, but he looks mad enough to double bird a Mother's Day crowd at Busch Stadium.  The best vintage card I landed yesterday though was a sweet 1972 Topps Tony LaRussa card with the Hall of Fame manager pictured as a utility infielder for the Braves.  

Pretty sweet.  I also picked up my usual assortment of more recent cards, such as....

A B.J. Upton jersey card from the 2009 Upper Deck set.  Always really liked the card design on this set.  Really cool.  I miss you Upper Deck.  

A Wil Myers green parallel from the 2014 Bowman set.  Former Durham Bull, current Ray, always the 2013 American League Rookie of the Year.  

A Marcus Stroman mini.  No serial numbered, but still a cool looking card of the former Duke star, turned Blue Jays prospect.  

Randal Grichuk autograph from the 2011 ITG set.  Really cool set with some good autographs.  Good inexpensive set to track down if you are looking for some good prospect autographs.  

This beautiful Stanton jumbo jersey numbered out of 25.  Jimmy has had this in the shop for awhile and it has been calling my name..(buy me) it whispered.  For something different.......

An autographed mini helmet of 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year TA McLendon.  He's a bit of a legend around here and had a great year for the 2002 NC State team which was one of their better football teams.  So, what constitutes a good football team at NC State?  They had Phillip Rivers.  They beat the doors off of Notre Dame in a bowl game.  

Finally the card I traded for.....

Longoria rookie, autographed, numbered out of 50.  Not too shabby.  Overall, another great trip into my favorite local card store.  

Road Trip: No Card Shops, No Problems

I spent the last few wandering around a small town in Northern Michigan with my in-laws.  The trip gets me out of my warm weather and away from some of my usual trappings I have here in North Carolina.   I still managed to do some blogging, writing, and planning for some future posts, but shopping for new cards?   While they are never short on snow in Michigan, the opportunity to find new cards can be somewhat limited.  I spend time relaxing and running around with the wife and little guy on every trip, but I challenged myself to find some cards to add while I was out. 

By adding new cards, I mean not going on Ebay or COMC and buying a bunch that I am happy to find in my held mail.  No, no.  Cards in hand, or cards from contacts were my goal.  So, I actually ended up with a few nice cards and I do not even have them all in hand yet.  So, here's a break down on my newest additions:

2008 Topps Triple Threads Ozzie Smith Jersey/Bat

It's been awhile since I did anything with any of the Facebook groups, but I saw this and decided it would make a good addition.  I managed to negotiate a good price for the card with the owner and sent over a few bucks on Paypal.  I am not sure the last time I made any sort of Facebook trade or purchase, but I was beyond happy to add a cool new Ozzie card with the powder blue 1980s Cardinals pieces.  More on Facebook trading later in the week. 

I also picked up three cards in an in-person trade with my brother in-law who has gotten into card collecting during the past year.  Here's three cards I picked up from him:

2013 Topps Museum Collection Jurickson Profar Autograph 

 
Profar autograph is pretty self-explanatory.  One of the better prospects in the game and an on-card autograph from a nice set to boot.  I am a little short in the Profar department, so I decided to go for it on this card.  Really happy to add this to my collection. 

2013 Topps Tribute Adam Wainwright Dual Jersey

Cool looking Wainwright piece numbered to 99.  I love Wainwright, but I do not pick up enough of his cards.  He's pretty much just a relic card guy now, I cannot remember when he had his last certified autograph, but they're always nice like this one.  The high socks are cool in the picture.  The Cardinals players often wear them up on Sundays.  A little fade started by Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay.  Go on Twitter and search #highsocksundays for more info. 

2013 Panini USA Baseball Randal Grichuk Jersey

I am still working on adding some more Grichuk cards to my collection since his inclusion in the Peter Bourjos-David Freese trade.  Grichuk will likely start the year at Memphis in Triple-A, but I am excited by what I have heard about the the outfielder.  Cool card and welcome addition. 

I have a few other cards I added and worked on with my local card shop, but have not had a chance to swing by and pick up my new cards.  Later in the week I will have a few more. 

Meet Randal Grichuk

The World Series has ended and the hot stove is heating up around Major League Baseball.  The Cardinals have been pretty busy so far this month trading away hometown third baseman David Freese to Angels for Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk and then signing shortstop Jhonny Peralta away from the Tigers.  The new players have given me some new players and cards to find over the winter.  I got started on the new players right away last week in tracking down a pair of cards from new Cardinals outfield prospect Randal Grichuk.  

Most baseball publications put Grichuk in the top five prospects in the Angels organization.  While the Angels organization is pretty thin, Grichuk still sounds like he might be a pretty solid prospect.  He's already an above average outfielder defensively and has some good pop in his bat posting 22 home runs and 56 extra base hits in exactly 500 at-bats in the Texas League (AA).  He's a bit of a free swinger, but there's always time to work on his plate discipline.  I am guessing a good summer in the Cardinals organization and we should see Grichuk in St. Louis at the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015.  

On to the cards.  Grichuk has a few different cards floating around and even has a few autographs.  In fact, there are five of them.  The most common of which is an In The Game autograph issued by the Canadian card company in 2011.    There is also a Donruss Elite from the same year and a pair of Bowmans.  More recently, Panini put out an autograph of Grichuk in last year's USA Baseball release. I decided to try to track down a Bowman autograph and found a nice copy of his 2010 Bowman Draft card on COMC.  

2010 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Randal Grichuk

Grichuk's other Bowman autograph comes from the 2009 Chrome set.  Hopefully I can track down a copy at a good price.  It seems like the price of Grichuk cards went from $3 or $4 a few weeks ago to selling for more than $10 the past week and a half after the trade.  I am going to blame the bump in price on the fact that every Cardinals collector is out trying to find a Grichuk autograph.  I am sure that by spring the excitement and novelty will die down a little bit.  I also ended up with another cool Grichuk card...

2013 Panini USA Baseball Randal Grichuk Jersey 

This USA Baseball jersey is the only relic card that Grichuk has out on the secondary market.  I like the USA Baseball cards and try to check out some of their games every summer, but I never watch any other teams outside of the College All-Stars.  Naturally that means that I missed getting to see Grichuk in a USA Baseball uniform.  Really cool card and happy to add to my collection.  

Excited to see Grichuk in a Cardinals uniform.  Looks like Randal is fitting in well to his new home.