Posted by Jeremy on January 9, 2009 under MLB Trade Analysis | 
- 4th outfielder bound to become a Fenway favorite
The Red Sox added a key piece to their bench with the acquisition of one time elite prospect Rocco Baldelli. The former Tampa Bay Ray has been ravaged by injury and illness for much of his career, but his inspiring comeback from mitochondrial disease has been nothing short of miraculous.
Boston is pretty well set with a starting outfield of Jason Bay, J.D. Drew, and Jacoby Ellsbury and the fact that Rocco’s condition is not curable has caused many to be skeptical of Baldelli’s overall value to the team.
However, the most recent reports have shown that Baldelli’s condition can be mitigated by medication and proper physical precautions. It seems like Baldelli has been around forever, but the fact remains that he is just 27 years old, an age where many players are just beginning to enter the primes of their careers.
The eBay market for Baldelli’s cards is now just starting to pick up with his best cards, the 2000 Bowman Draft autographs, selling for between $45-50 each and bulk lots of his Topps Traded Chrome and Bowman Chrome Draft can be had at less than $1.00 per card. What can we expect from Baldelli? Last season in 80 regular season AB’s, Rocco hit .263 with 4 HR and 13 RBI. He also added 2 HR and 4 RBI in 20 post season AB’s.
I think that Baldelli will be able to accumulate 200 AB and conceivably double digits in HR. Baldelli is a native New Englander who will be lauded once he dons the #5 jersey. If he can stay healthy and strong, Rocco the role player will be a smash hit in Beantown.
Posted by Jeremy on under $100 Well Spent |
It has been about a month since Razor debuted with their much heralded baseball product so I thought it would be a perfect time spend my hypothetical C-note on a batch of players from their fine product. As always, I will be using a median eBay value that accounts for the nefarious shipping and handling costs that all of us love to pay. Here we go…
1.) Pedro Alvarez Exclusive Signature—$22.00
- Arguably the best hitter in the draft, Alvarez’s non-serial #’ed auto is available for about 10 bucks less than his one #’ed out of 499. I think it is safe to say that Alvarez is a fast track player and the best offensive talent that the Pittsburgh Pirates have drafted since they selected a skinny OF out of Arizona State back in 1986.
2.) Justin Smoak Exclusive Auto—$16.00
- Comparisons to all-star switch hitting power sources like Mark Teixeira and Lance Berkman are prime indicators that we can expect big things out Smoak. The Rangers have made enormous strides in pulling their organization out of the post A-Rod mire. With top caliber pitching talent just a season or two away, the offense is already in place for the Rangers to battle for A.L. West supremacy. By that time, this young 1B will be firmly entrenched in the middle part of this lethal lineup.
3.) Brett Wallace Exclusive Auto—$14.00
- Be it an aluminium bat or wooden one, Wallace can flat out rake with it. After a success-filled career at Arizona State, Wallace continued to rip pitchers in both the Midwest and Texas Leagues batting a combined .337 with 8 HR and 36 RBI in just 202 AB. After that, he went back to the desert to hit .309 and belt another 6 HR in the Arizona Fall League. The walking M.A.S.H. unit Troy Glaus is the only thing holding Wallace back from manning the corner of the diamond opposite MVP Albert Pujols. Given his level of success, expect Wallace to make it happen at some time in 2009.
4.) Eric Hosmer Exclusive Signature—$12.00
- The Royals reclaimation project is in full swing and this big lefty 1B is a central figure in this organization’s turnaround. With the power bats of Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and Mike Moustakas around him, Hosmer and the Royals are destined to restore the pride of the Royals of the 1980’s. Hosmer is polished for being a prep hitter, but with Mike Jacobs and Kila Ka’aihue in the fold, there is no pressure to rush him to K.C. His powerful bat and great defensive abilities, however, may make it hard to keep him back for long.
5.) David Cooper Signature Series #/1199—$5.00
- Would you rather have a Subway $5.00 foot long or the serial #’ed autograph from this fine 1st round Toronto Blue Jays hitter. Cooper hit the ball well at three separate stops to the tune of a .333 BA with 5 HR 51 RBI and 29 doubles in 69 games. Cooper has advanced plate discipline and surprisng pop despite his smallish size. In a draft dominated by slugging corner infielders, Cooper’s bat is an undervalued commodity. Expect it to reach the bigs in 2010.
6.) Aaron Crow Exclusive Auto—$8.00
- The Washington Nationals were unable to reach a contract agreement with their top pick Aaron Crow which means that he will re-enter the draft this June and, aside from San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg, he may be the best pitcher of the batch. Last season at Missouri, Crow was a perfect 13-0, including four shut outs, with a 2.56 ERA and 137 K’s in just 107 IP. The Nats are a team that is slowly undergoing the process of improvement and it will take a while longer than that to become relevant to the collecting masses. Looking at the top 10 picks of the ‘09 draft, I see some much more collector friendly organizations like the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves that may choose to employ Mr. Crow’s services next season.
7.) Ryan Westmoreland Significant Signature #/1199—$8.00
- Scouts who watched this young prep prospect liken him immediately to fellow Rhode Islander and new Boston Red Sox OF Rocco Baldelli. Westmoreland has been ranked by some experts as high as #5 in Boston’s deeply talented farm system. Westmoreland’s speed has been charted just below that of current Fenway CF Jacoby Ellsbury and his tall projectible frame indicates that he should be able to add some good HR pop as he matures. In watching Ryan’s quick lefty swing, it is easy to see why the Red Sox shelled out $1.6 million to lure him away from Vanderbilt. The son of a HS baseball coach, Westmoreland has supreme plate discipline and a good game plan at the plate. One caveat, he did have off-season shoulder surgery, but should be ready to make his professional debut in June.
8.) Brett Wallace/David Cooper Dual Auto #/99
- For some reason the Razor dual autos have been not warmly received by the collecting masses. Perhaps this is due to the inundation of Team USA dual autos available on the market or maybe it is the historical notion that dual autos are destined to turn promising prospects to complete duds (like many of the 2004 SP Prospects sets did). Either way, I think this card features two of the most promising college bats from this year’s draft that should be Major League ready by 2010. Both these guys have supreme plate disicpline, good pop, and an opportunity to earn a roster spot very soon.
Well, for just above the price of a real Razor Baseball box, I think I have compiled a pretty good score of hits. There are so many good prospects to be had in this set and, while I was critical of Razor in the early going, I must say that they have put forth a good effort in their first go at it.
This next season will give a greater indication on just what kind of impact Razor
