it's a tar heel card

It's too bad that Blogger does not let you change the font size for just one post because the Tar Heel in the title would be a size 3 font if I had my way.  Last spring as college baseball was winding down there was a lot of speculation about Colin Moran, the UNC third baseman, being the top overall draft pick in the MLB amateur draft.  There were a group of people who were pretty sure if he was not the first pick, he would be in the top five for sure.  ESPN's Keith Law issued a video scouting report of the Tar Heels third baseman which confirmed this common notion.

After Moran was drafted his cards went crazy, like most top draft prospects, and collectors spent plenty of time and money scooping up cards of the future Marlins third baseman.  However, I decided to let a little time go by before picking up too many Moran cards.  I got a few, but not much time or money was sunk into the effort.  The main reason being that I am not drinking the Kool-Aid on Colin Moran being a good Major League player.  I know that certain individuals might attribute my opinion to my degree and sports loyalty belonging to the red North Carolina school, but it goes far beyond that.

First, in the Keith Law scouting report he makes light of the fact that Colin Moran might have a slow first step.  Let's correct that and say that the second, third, fourth, and so forth are also slow steps with Colin Moran.  He's slow.  Molina brother, Vinny Castilla slow.  Let's take a look:

Moran is on second when the ball is hit and is a good ten to fifteen feet off the base.  When the ball gets past the pitcher he's running "full speed", the outfielder for NC State throws the ball with on several bounces, and Moran is still out by feet.  Does he get within five feet of the plate even?  I don't think so.  In watching Moran his lack of speed really hurts his defense.  I know he has a good arm over at third base base, but his fielding stats in Single A last year showed his range factor is somewhere around David Freese (Cardinals fan cringe) and he has a lower fielding percentage.  Yikes.  

I know he's more of a power/hitting prospect, but I even have my doubts there.  Last year Moran' overall offensive production in college looks great.  He posted a .357/.485/.579 line with 13 home runs and 84 RBIs.  Good enough to win the ACC Player of the Year.  However, it should be noted that their was a drop off in both power and batting average from Moran once UNC reached ACC play last year.  I am not sure he ever got a hit off of Luke Weaver or Carlos Rodon, who are the two best pitchers in the ACC.  

After being drafted last year, Moran hit .296 in Single A Greensboro and also managed an On Base Percentage of .354.  However, he only had 4 home runs and 8 doubles in almost 200 at bats for a slugging percentage of .442.  Moran still has not appeared in a minor league game and seems destined for a short season A ball team this year.  Not a great thing for a top 5 draft pick who's supposed to be a polished college bat.  

Moran started this season in the Baseball America Top 100 prospects, but down the line a bit at 74.  I'm not going to doubt Moran's ability to reach the Majors, he will get there, but I am calling into question how big of an impact he will have once he reaches that level.  Card collectors seem to have figured out Moran quickly and his card prices have dived south sharply.  

The drop in prices has put many of Moran's autographed cards below $5.  Sure, if it's short printed or serial numbered to something really low you are still going to pay for it.  If you are looking for a good risk on a $4 or $5 autograph this a good risk.  I could be right about Moran and he could be a ho hum third baseman for your favorite team for the next five to ten years in which case $5ish is a good price for an on-card autograph.  If I am completely wrong about Moran and he ends up being the National League starter at third base for the next decade I will write another post saying I am wrong and you will have scored a major bargain on a nice piece of cardboard. 

Some Big Mac Dirt

The 2001 Stadium Club "Dirt Cards" have always been one of those really unique ideas that a card company tried out and then quickly never ever tried it again.  Many collectors do not the communal cards, such as game used base cards, the Stadium Club pitchers mound and batter's box cards have remained pretty popular over the past decade plus since Topps first introduced them to collectors.  I am sure that if card companies had continued to make these they would all be $2.00 shipped on Ebay, like game used base cards are, but having only one run of cards like this has actually helped their value and popularity.

There are a few cards in this set which can be found for less than $5, but the cards generally float somewhere closer to the $10 mark, and at times, can even approach $20.  I had picked up a copy of the Big Mac card way back around the time the 2001 Stadium Club set was first released, but ran across another copy last week while making a few trades to work on my thread about the Durham Bulls.  I needed to take on another card to even out the trade and had a hard time saying no to this old friend. 

How Could I Forget You Evan Longoria?

I had a really good day opening Gypsy Queen cards the other day at Big D's Cards.  Two boxes and all kinds of cool hits came out of my box.  You know what happens when you get something cool.  There are pictures and posts, time looking at your cool hits.  I have been in love with my Gypsy Queen cards the past few days and neglected some of my other cards.  Sadly.  I still love this button card.....

 

 It's somewhat understandable to lose track of other cards with all the excitement of the Gypsy Queen hits, but still I actually had a few other cards I probably should have posted earlier this week.  Before going in to Big D's for my pair of Gypsy Queen boxes I had been offered a few other cards by the store owner Jimmy who always takes time to look out for me.  I found me two really sweet cards.

The first card I picked up was a short printed Yadier Molina card from last year's Topps Heritage set.  Really cool short-printed card that I was missing from last year.  I also picked up another really cool autographed card from Jimmy too....

I absolutely love this Evan Longoria Tribute autograph card.  Jimmy had originally posted the card on his Facebook page and I glanced over it one day.  I was busy doing something and did not have a chance to flag the card.  When the Molina card came up a day or two later I asked about the Longoria card and was happy that Jimmy was able to set the card aside from me.  I picked this card up last weekend when I was picking up my two boxes of Gypsy Queen, but set it on the side of my desk the past few days.  I am sorry I forgot about Evan Longoria, it won't happen again. 

Collecting the Durham Bulls: Mike Fontenot

Fontenot is easily the most experienced Durham Bulls since the Rays purchased the contract of Erik Bedard last week.   Mike Fontenot played seven seasons in the Majors spending time with the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and Philadelphia Phillies.   This is the veteran infielder's second season in Durham after he spent the 2013 season here too.  In 120 games last summer Fontenot posted a .264/.335/.379 line for the Bulls.  He spent most of his time playing second base last summer, but Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo did play him at third and short as well. 

Every team needs a player like Fontenot around.  He's not a spectacular player, but if the Rays were short an infielder there is no reason why Fonenot could not fill the void for a short time.  In the meantime, he can be a good mentor to young infielders in Durham like Hak Ju Lee and Cole Figueroa.  Fontenot also seems to have a really good relationship with the Bulls coaching staff.  On to the cards....

The first Fontenot cards appeared in 2003 while he was in the Baltimore Orioles organization.  His cards did not have that official rookie card stamp thing in the corner when they were issued that year, so he also appears to have a few rookie cards floating around in 2007.  Do not let the shiny rookie card badge distract you.  If you want a Fontenot rookie he appears in 2003 Topps, Bowman, Topps Total, and Topps Bazooka.  Of course there are nicer Fontenot cards then these....

Fontenot has a whole bunch of autographed cards out on the secondary market.  Most of the cards feature the infielder as a Cub, which makes me a little queasy, but I love the Bulls so I do own one.  Fontenot seems to have a ton of dual or triple autographed cards.  Lots of players have a few, Fontenot seems to have a ton.  I am not completely against dual signature cards, but it is hard to buy a dual autograph when the players on the card have a pretty wide gap in talent, or the players are of equal talent and the price of the card is ridiculous.  Fontenot dual signature cards fit both of these problems. 

Low talent with a high price:

Shockingly as the price seems you have to remember that some of the really cool Fontenot autographs with the Cubs were issued during the 2007 season, which seems a little bit high for Cubs cards.  I guess they won their division that year, but I am not sure why that year (along with 2008) drifts high.  Surely a division title is not the only reason.  What am I missing?

Fontenot also has a bunch of dual signature cards where he kind of drags the card down.  Mike Fontenot and Pablo Sandoval?  So, that the starting third baseman for a two World Series champion and his backup?  I think this would be cool if you had Sandoval and Hunter Pence, Tim Lincecum, someone else besides Fontenot.  Of course, if you really like Mike Fontenot there are some really cool cards out there were he does not share the card with other players. 

Being a part of two World Series winners in San Francisco means that Fontenot has been in two of these sets which Topps puts out every year to commemorate the winning team.  Fontenot was a part of the 2010 team which beat the Rangers and the 2012 team which beat the Tigers.  The cards are usually numbered to less than 100 and are highly sought after.  While the last card of Fontenot's to sell of Ebay does not have it's exact completion price, I would have a hard time believing it went too far below the original asking price.  Pretty steep price to ask for a utility infielder. 

Memphis Redbirds Hat Logo

I have been working on my Collecting the Durham Bulls thread the during the past week which took a little bit of guess work during spring training to prepare for some of the perspective players on this year's roster.  Besides having a good head start on getting some of the cards for this year's Durham Bulls team, I also have been able to go back and pick up some minor league cards for that other team I follow: the Cardinals.  

In my last Durham Bulls post I showed off a cool patch card of Rays prospect Mikie Mahtook which came out of Topps Heritage.  While I now have several of these cards from the Durham Bulls, Montgomery Biscuits, and Charlotte Stone Crabs I do not own any of these cards from Cardinals minor league teams.  I changed that a few weeks ago when I picked up a copy of the Kolten Wong card from last year's Topps Heritage Minor League's set. 

Wong was actually called up by the Cardinals at the end of the last year and appeared on the Cardinals World Series roster.  While he seemed to struggle at times during his cup of coffee, and was picked off of first base to end a World Series game, the Cardinals felt good enough about Wong's skill set to turn over the starting second base job to his this season.  That meant that All-Star second baseman Matt Carpenter was moved back to his natural starting position at third base and native St Louisan, and 2011 Postseason hero, David Freese was shipped out to Anaheim.  Wong has done pretty well for himself to start the season.  

Collecting the Durham Bulls: Mikie Mahtook

I have been waiting for Mikie Mahtook to show up in Durham the last few years.  I have caught glimpses of him on different highlights and liked what I saw.  Mahtook was a great college player at LSU and was selected by the Rays in the first round of the 2011 draft.  If you read most scouting reports of Mahtook they will rate his skills above average across the board, but he does not have one stand out skill.  Here are his career minor league stats including his first week and a half of play at Triple A. 

Really the thing that stands out the most to me is the OBP.  I always try to think of .350 as being the ideal floor for an outfielder which Mahtook is below.  This year he is at .396 so far, but he only has 2 walks in almost 50 plate appearances.  It's something to work on, but I still think that Mahtook will be on the Rays sooner rather than later and he will contribute to the team.  In someways he reminds me a little bit of Jon Jay, but he can actually cover the outfield. 

Mahtook has a ton of cardboard.  High draft choices always get a decent share of baseball cards, but Mahtook was one of the best college players in the game entering the draft and has a pretty good fan following which always helps the cause.  His first few cards actually are in a USA Baseball uniform from his time with the college all-star team including autographs.  At times these autographed cards can be a little bit pricey, given the type of player he is likely to become at the next level, but can found for less than $10 if you are patient. Of course, you can always opt for unsigned too.  Panini has a few nice base Mahtook cards that can be found for a dollar or two. 

Let's get back to the autographs.  Mahtook has been a great signer.  His USA Baseball autographs can drift a little bit higher than some of his other certified autographs.  Particularly his Bowman Platinum USA Baseball autograph which is in a great 2010 set.  You are paying for a Mahtook autograph, but you are also paying for the fact that it's in the same set as lots of other great autographs (including a very nice Steven Strasburg card).  His other autographs are almost always less than $5 on Ebay.  

His Bowman Platinum autograph from the 2012 set is one of my favorites.  It features a really nice on-card signature and is readily available several different places around the secondary card market cheap.  Mahtook also had a nice autograph in the 2013 Topps Heritage Minor League set.  It's a sticker autograph, but...

 

really you are getting an autograph for less than $5 and let's be honest about something.  Mahtook has a cool signature and he's not one of these guys who signs his 250 cards in 10 minutes.  All of his autographs look neat, nice, and actually look like he spent time and effort to sign.  Thank you.  One more really cool card.. 

 

There are relic cards of Mahtook and they are inexpensive.  Whose relic cards aren't inexpensive these days?  Collectors are a little bit bored with relic cards and it shows in the pricing.  However, I love these minor league manufactured patch cards that Topps has put out in the past few years.  I know that I have had a great time tracking down copies of the Durham Bulls cards like this and think this Charlotte Stone Crabs card of Mikie Mahtook is a cool find too.  

Overall, if you are a fan of the Rays, or Durham Bulls, and are looking for a player with loads of cards to collect this is a good player to look into.  While Mahtook has a lot of different cards for a Minor League most are very affordable and look pretty cool too.

Spring Break Spring Fever Joe Kelly

I love the beginning of the baseball season.  More importantly, I love that the beginning of baseball season always falls into my spring track out.  If you are not familiar with the concept of Year Round Schools (teach for 9-10 weeks, off for 3-4 weeks) it's similiar to having a Spring Break, but it just lasts a few weeks longer.  I spend time focusing on writing lesson plans for the next quarter and getting myself organized, but also leave plenty of time for baseball. 

I have been able to see a few Durham Bulls games during the past few weeks, watch plenty of the Cardinals and Rays, and also spend time working on my baseball cards.  Sometimes I miss having time to track down cards once I am in school.  Alright, I make time, but it's a small window.  Breaks, track out, Spring Break, whatever you want to call it gives me ample time to search and plan.  So, here's a Spring Break kind of card for my last full week of vacation.

Topps put these Spring Fever cards out last year too.  Something with wrapper redemptions or something.  I am not a fan of mailing things to Topps.  It should be an unwritten rule of baseball cards: Mailing things to Topps does not mean they are mailing something back to you (in a timely manner).  Or Something like that.  I like redeem redemptions or whatever you would categorize this card.  I sent Topps nothing, but I still own the card.

I am a pretty big fan of Joe Kelly and am happy to see him in the Cardinals starting rotation instead of the bullpen this season.  Recently, Peter Gammons offered a flattering comparison for the Cardinals hard throwing righty.

Carlos Martinez 94-99, command, but some of us think Joe Kelly is Tim Hudson II
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) March 20, 2014

So far this year Kelly has done pretty well in his two starts, but there is a long way to go in the season.