A Glimpse of What I’ve Been Collecting

Posted by Jeremy on May 21, 2010 under Market Watch, Online Buying and Selling | Be the First to Comment

Now that we’ve gotten the “good to be back” formalities out of the way, I thought I’d give you a little peek at what I’ve been working on over the past 6 months.  It’s been a while since I have been writing and the following blurbs are my attempt to knock some of the rust off.

This offseason, I decided to get more serious about stocking my eBay store.  After all, paying $15 a month for a vacant storefront is not a sound investment strategy.  Going through my inventory at home, I quickly came to the realization that I was woefully disorganized.  I spent the better part of two days separating my cards by players and alphabetizing them.  I then pulled out the cards that I felt would stand a good chance to move on the market and created storefront auctions.  The great thing about eBay store auctions is that they run for 30 days (opposed to 3, 5, 7, or 10) and are cheaper to do than the customary fixed price auctions.  Also, items can be listed in bulk for no additional charge (a real boon for the prospector).   I built my storefront up to about 300 items and priced my items at about 10-15% lower than the median prices of other storefront items in hopes that they would attract more attention.  I also made the decision to offer free shipping on combined item shipments.

Things started to vanish out of my inventory quickly and I used the revenues to purchase more prospects.  I targeted players that I felt would have a good chance of making early impacts at the major league level.  Jason Heyward, Starlin Castro, Chris Carter, Michael Taylor, Michael Stanton, Jesus Montero, Julio Borbon, Brett Anderson, Desmond Jennings, Freddie Freeman, Carlos Santana, Reid Brignac, and others.  I snagged base and chrome bulk lots of each of these players with the intent of having a considerable quantity available if and when these fine young players made their marks at the major league level.

Since this time, players like Heyward, Santana, Castro, and Stanton have long since left my inventory, as their hot starts created a frenzy of market activity.  Others like Borbon, Carter, Taylor, and Jennings battled injuries or poor performances in the early going, and the demand for their RC’s is still a bit below what it should, and very well could, be.  So still they sit in the inventory, and I look for opportunities to add to the quantities every day.

The other buying strategy that I employed was to find good deals on short print, refractor, and serial numbered cards of MLB stars.  Players like Albert Pujols, Ichiro, Joe Mauer, and Evan Longoria are always in high demand and available in bulk quantities.  Being a prospect guy, I was a bit leery of risking too much capital on non-RC’s but soon found myself quite surprised with the rapid, and profitable, turn around on several of these players’ cards.  I’ll be tinkering with this a bit more to further optimize the process.

One area that I didn’t research as much this year was lower level (i.e. Low and High A) prospects.  The main impetus behind this notion is the simple fact that long term prospect holds tend to have a diminuative effect on cash flow.  I’ve covered this theory in past blog posts but, for those of you who are new to this site or to prospecting, I’ll go over it again.

The eBay market for first year cards is highly active upon the initial release of the products within which they reside.  For example, a can’t miss prospect in the latest Bowman Chrome set will command high dollar values as the masses of eager collectors snap them up for their collections.  As a prospector, this is a bad time to buy the particular product.  However, it is an excellent time to research the prospects within the set to gain a better feel for their skills, projectability, future impact potential, and the anticipated speed of their track to the major leagues.

Eventually new products come out and the hoards divert their attention elsewhere leaving you with the opportunity to buy.  If you’ve done your research and have monitored the progress of the prospects, you should have a pretty fair idea of who to buy and approximately how long you will have to wait for that player to don a major league uniform.  As you see from my list above, I hand picked several players that I anticipated would be making initial impacts this season and could be acquired in low-cost bulk quantities.  Once some of the players debuted, I quickly got an an assessment of the way that the market was trending and set my prices within that range.  As the players continued to perform, I gradually raised the prices of their cards until my inventory was completely empty.

Jason Heyward is a great case-in-point example of this method at work. 

Upon the arrival of the 2007 Bowman Draft and Chrome set, Heyward was lauded as one of the high demand prospects to be had within the product.  Chrome cards went regularly for $4-5 each as many collectors were, for good reason, intrigued by his considerable upside.  Heyward performed well at each stop of his two year minor league stint and remained an elite prospect, but his cards lost some of their early steam and dropped into the $2.50-3.00 range.  Base and gold cards from the set were even cheaper at just $1-2 each.

BUY, BUY, BUY!

Fast forward to spring training.  Heyward ripped through Grapefruit League pitching and prospectors took notice.  Soon his chrome cards pushed north of $5.00 on eBay and threatened to push into double digits.  I was tempted to cash in at this point and price my stuff to market.  I held, however, and waited for April to roll around.

Opening day.  A laser beam home run and multiple comparisons to baseball legends by the Baseball Tonight bunch pushed all of his cards into the stratosphere.  His ‘07 BCD cards shot into the $20-25 range almost overnight.  Even the base and gold cards were going for $8-12 each.  Within hours, I had my complete inventory up online, sold and shipped.

Now, a skeptic could read this and say “Duh, It doesn’t take a genius to know that Jason Heyward was going to be a star”.  Precisely.  While his cards were a bit more expensive than a deep sleeper toiling in Low-A ball, there was still enough room for a nice profitable growth and the risk of attrition was far less than casting my lot on a lesser known commodity.  Additionally, the short term investment was much more beneficial on my cash flow situation and allotted me an opportunity to roll my income into another short term investment.

As for those short term investments….we’ll see what happens in the next few months.

Use the comments section below to further the conversation and thanks for checking in!

3/30 Spring Training Report

Posted by Jeremy on March 31, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

With one week left to go, all of the clubs have been or will be calling up some of their younger players from the minor league camps for a final round of innings in the big league camp before heading to their minor league destinations. Today’s action saw Adam Jones belt his 3rd HR of the season, as did the red hot Erick Aybar. Taylor Teagarden and Justin Smoak went deep for the Rangers and Alex Gordon did it twice. On the mound, Glen Perkins pitched to his 3rd win of the spring and Brett Anderson gritted through 6 innings for his 2nd victory. The youngster of the day, though, was Seattle Mariners OF prospect Mike Wilson who blasted his 6th and 7th HR of the spring, knocking in 5.

Youngster of the Day—MIKE WILSON

Other Notable Performances:

• Kenshin Kawakami—6 IP 4H 2 ER 2 BB 4K
• Adam Rosales—2-2 2 2B 2 RBI
• Wellington Castillo-2-2
• Ross Ohlendorf—5.1 IP 3H ER 2 BB 3K
• Johnny Cueto—5 IP 3H ER 4 BB 2K
• Ryan Perry—IP BB SV(1)
• Andrew MIller—6 IP 4H UER 3K
• David Purcey—6 IP 2H ER 5 BB 2K
• Adam Lind—2-3 2B
• Glen Perkins—6 IP 4H Bb 4K W(3)
• Adam Jones—1-3 HR(3) RBI
• Daniel Murphy—2-3 HR(1) RBI 2B
• Trevor Crowe—1-2 2R 2 BB SB(7)
• Josh Whitesell—1-3 HR(3) 2 RBI
• Taylor Teagarden—1-2 HR(4) 3 RBI BB
• Justin Smoak—1-2 HR(2) RBI
• Jesus Guzman—1-1 HR(5) RBI
• Mike Wilson—2-3 2 HR(7) 5 RBI
• Casey McGehee—1-2 HR(6) 2 RBi 2R
• Alcides Escobar—1-1 2R RBI SB(4)
• Brett Anderson—6 IP 6H 3 ER bB 4K W(2)
• Chris Denorfia—2-5 2B 2 RBI R
• Alex Gordon—2-5 2 HR(5) 3 RBI 2R
• Josh Fields—2-4 2B R
• Kendry Morales—3-4 2B 3B 3 RBI R
• Erick Aybar—2-3 HR(3) RBI 2R

Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson: Closing in on a Roster Spot

Posted by Jeremy on March 26, 2009 under Market Watch | Be the First to Comment

The Oakland A’s made a concerted effort this offseason to shore up an offense that was one of the worst in all of baseball in 2008.  Highlighted by the trade for Colorado Rockies All-Star OF Matt Holliday, Oakland also made waves with free agent signings of veterans Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar Garciaparra.  The pitching staff, however, has been largely unchanged from last season with Dana Eveland, Dallas Braden, Gio Gonzalez, and Sean Gallagher all battling to slot themselves behind ace Justin Ducshcherer. 

Enter Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson…

Cahill has been as good as advertised this spring going 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA and 3 BB/10 K in 16 IP.  Anderson, for his part, has impressed as well, garnering a 1-1 record with a 1.54 ERA and 4 BB/2 K in 11.2 IP.  Rotation hopefuls Gallagher, Eveland, Gonzalez, and Josh Outman have had up and down performances this spring, further muddyinig the waters, making manager Bob Geren’s decision more difficult.

Anderson starts today against the Chicago White Sox, and Cahill should get one more start later this week.  Their performances should go a long way toward dictating the odds of either or both of them snagging a spot on the opening day 25 man roster.

The market has responded favorably to Cahill’s strong spring with his 2007 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto selling for $27-30 each.  A more wallet-friendly purchase can be found with his ‘07 Bowman Heritage cards which can be had for $1-2 each.  Anderson has 1st year cards in the 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospects set that sell for $1-2 each and autographed cards in the ‘07 Donruss Elite Extra set (#/549) available for $25-28 each.

My Take: Both of these kids are just 21 years old and have fully wound arbitration clocks.  Pennants are not won in April, and the A’s have enough talent to stay in contention in the A.L. West.  I think the prices for their autos are peaking right now in expectation that one or both of them will earn a spot in the A’s’ rotation.

I don’t think so.

Once either Anderson or Cahill (or both) get sent down to AAA Sacramento, the demand for their cards will subside significantly.  Odds are that they will be back by June, and so will the clammoring for their cards.  If you can land a chrome lot of Anderson or a Heritage lot of Cahill at around $2.00 each, it should be a good value buy right now.

Current Trevor Cahill Auctions:

Current Brett Anderson Auctions

6/20 Spring Training Report

Posted by Jeremy on March 21, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Nelson Cruz keeps looking like a big time breakout candidate as he smacked his 4th HR today and super OF prospects Jason Heyward and Austin Jackson both hit their second bombs of the spring.  On the mound, Phil Hughes threw 4 strong innings and Carlos Carrasco added another 4.2 scoreless innings to his impressvie resume.  No one was better today, however, than Clay Buchholz who tossed 5 four-hit innings striking out three en route to his second win of the spring.

Youngster of the Day—CLAY BUCHHOLZ

Other Notable Performances:

• Daniel Murphy—2-4 3B RBI
• Ike Davis—2-4 RBI 2B
• Bobby Parnell—2.2 IP 5H 2K
• Carlos Carrasco—4.2 Ip 3H 2 ER 2 BB
• Clay Buchholz—5 IP 4H UER BB 3K W(2)
• George Kottaras—2-2 2B 2 RBI
• Chris Carter—1-2 R RBI
• Brad Mills—5 IP 6H 4 ER BB 4K W(2)
• Brad Emaus—1-3 2B RBI
• Austin Jackson—1-4 HR(2) RBI
• Phil Hughes—4.1 IP 3H ER BB
• Jason Heyward—2-4 HR(2) 2 RBI 2R
• Josh Anderson—2-4
• Emiliano Bonifacio—2-6 2R
• Chris Pettit—1-2 RBI
• Casey McGehhee—2-5 HR(4) 2 RBI
• Alcides Escobar—2-2 2B 2 RBI BB R
• Rob Johnson—2-3 HR(2) 2 RBI
• Aaron Cunningham—2-2 HR(2) 2R 2 RBI
• Cliff Pennington—1-3 3B 3 RBI R
• Brett Anderson—2 IP H BB K
• Kyle Blanks—1-4 HR(4) 2 RBI
• Emmannuel Burriss—3-4 2 RBI
• Eugenio Velez—1-2 2 RBI
• Nelson Cruz—2-2 HR(4) 2 RBI 2R 2B
• Elvis Andrus—2-3 2B R SB(2)
• Royce Huffman—2-5 2B R
• Matt Harrison—5 IP 5H 2 ER 2 BB 3K W(2)
• Ian Stewart—3-4 HR(3) RBI
• Dexter Fowler—1-5 2B R
• Chris Lubanski—1-2 HR(2) 2 RBI
• Blake DeWitt—3-5 RBI
• Delwyn Young—2-4 RBI
• Josh Lindblom—2 IP H 3K

3/8 Spring Training Report

Posted by Jeremy on March 9, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Pitching prospects are the big story of today as several young hurlers put in some positive innings today.  Justin Masterson, Daniel Bard and Junichi Tazawa combined to throw 6 innings of 3 hit, 1 run ball today, David Purcey looked good in his 3 scoreless innings as did Phil Hughes.  The youngster of today, however, is the rapidly rising star in the Atlanta Braves’ system Tommy Hanson.  Hanson surrendered just one run over  4 innings striking out 7 hitters.  If you haven’t picked up this guy’s rookie cards yet, the window of opportunity to get them at cost-effective levels are diminishing with each dominant outing he logs.

Youngster of the Day—TOMMY HANSON

Other Notable Performances:

• Gaby Sanchez—2-4 R
• Jarret Hoffpauir—2-3 R RBI
• Garrett Jones—2-4 HR(1) 2B BB 3 RBI 2R
• Carlos Gomez—1-3 HR(2) 2 RBI
• Will Rhymes—1-2 HR(1) 2 RBI
• Jeff Larish—2-3 BB R
• Phil Hughes—3 IP 2 BB 4K
• Mark Melancon—IP BB K
• Sharion Martis—2 IP 2K
• Jason Donald—2-3 BB R RBI
• Tommy Hanson—4 IP H ER BB 7K
• Diory Hernandez—2-3 2 RBI R
• Brandon Jones—2-4 R
• Jason Heyward—1-2 R
• Zack Daeges—1-4 HR(2) 2 RBI
• Lars Anderson—1-4 RBI
• Justin Masterson—3 IP H 3K
• Daniel Bard—IP 3K
• Junichi Tazawa—2 IP 2H ER 4K
• J.P. Arencibia—1-3 HR(1) 2 RBI
• Travis Snider—1-3 R
• David Purcey—3 IP 2BB 3K
• Adam Rosales—2-3 RBI
• Devin Mesoraco—1-2 R
• Chris Valaika—1-2 RBI
• Nick Hundley—1-3 BB R
• Matt Antonelli—2-4 2B RBI
• Mat Latos—2 IP 0H
• Eric Young Jr.—1-3 2B R
• Greg Golson—1-1 GS HR(1) 4 RBI
• Elvis Andrus—1-3 R BB
• Derek Holland—2.1 IP 4H BB K
• Nick Adenhart—2 IP 2H K (W)
• Chris Petit—1-1 2R
• Andrew Romine—1-2 3B R 2 RBI
• Jesus Guzman—1-4 2B RBI
• Matt Downs—3-4 HR(1) 3 RBI 2R
• Pablo Sandoval—1-3 RBI
• Brad Nelson—2-4 HR(1) RBI R
• Michael Brantley—2-2
• Brett Anderson—2.2 IP 2H BB K
• Corey Wimberley—1-3 2R BB
• Matt Carson—1-2 HR(1) 3 RBI 2R
• Adrian Cardenas—2-2 RBI
• Justin Upton—2-3 2 RBI R BB
• Wladimir Balentien—1-4 HR(2) 3 RBI 2R SB(1)

Welcome Back Team USA!

Posted by Jeremy on August 27, 2008 under Market Watch | Be the First to Comment

First medal in 8 years for USA Baseball

Fresh off of their Bronze Medal-winning Olympic experience, many Team USA members rejoined their MILB lineups after a month of international competition.  While many are likely still recovering from jet lag, some did play in last night’s games.  Here’s a rundown of their post-Olympic debuts…

Brian Barden

• 0-1

Jeremy Cummings

• 3 IP 4H ER 2BB 6K (W)

Dexter Fowler

• 0-3 K

Mike Hessman

• 2-3 BB

Lou Marson

• 0-2 2BB K

Blaine Neal

• IP

Taylor Teagarden

• 1-4 R 2K

An inauspicious start indeed, but it is nice to see them back in action.

Team USA Baseball Takes Home the Bronze

Posted by Jeremy on August 23, 2008 under Market Watch | Be the First to Comment

Everything that glitters ain't always Gold

 Team USA completed its Olympic action by defeating Japan 8-4 in the Bronze Medal game early this morning.  Homeruns by Jason Donald, Matt Brown, and goose egg recipient Matt LaPorta bolstered the attack and Brett Anderson pitched 7 innings to pick up the win.  In the Gold Medal game, Korea defeated the bush-league softball-chanting Cubans 3-2.

It would have been incredible to see our boys go for the Gold, but Bronze is a definite step up from their past couple performances.  Great job guys and we can’t wait to see you come home!

6/26 AA Minor League Report

Posted by Jeremy on June 28, 2008 under Minor League Ball today, Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Lots of great performances by super prospects!  Here’s the rundown…

Travis Snider

• 3-6 HR(15) 3 RBI 3 R—Adjusting well at AA but has K’ed 103 times!

David Hernandez

• 6.1 IP 2H 2ER 2BB 9K (W)—96 K’s thusfar with opponents hitting only .211 against him

George Kontos

• 5 IP 4H ER BB 7K (L)—3rd straight quality start but can’t win games (3-7)

Kris Johnson

• 6 IP 2H 2BB 4K (W)—6-3 3.32 ERA 59K/89IP

Jeremy Slayden

• 3-3 2B BB—.291 8 HR 53 RBI

Alcides Escobar

• 3-6 HR(7) 3 RBI 3R 2B—.326 50 RBI 111 Hits 21 SB

Mat Gamel

• 1-3 2B RBI 3BB—.371 118 Hits 15 HR 68 RBI .632 SLG

Michael Brantley

• 2-3 R SB(25)—Multiple hits in 4 of last 5 games

Matt LaPorta

• 2-4 2 2B 2 RBI BB—.297 19 HR 61 RBI .601 SLG

Jordan Schafer

• 2-3 R BB SB(5)—.378 10 RBI 10 R 10 BB last 10 games

David Price

• 6IP 4H 2ER 4BB 7K (W)—Solid 1st outing at AA now 5-0 on the season

Tyler Colvin

• 3-4 3B 2 RBI R—Back to back solid outings in a season that has been a struggle for Colvin

Matt Mangini

• 2-4 2B 3 RBI—Starting to get acclimated at AA after struggling early

Allen Craig

• 2-4 2B RBI R BB—.273 11 HR 47 RBI

Adam Ottovino

• 6IP 1H BB 5K—1st good outing in quite a while

Aaron Cunningham

• 3-4 R 2B—.283 5 HR 20 RBI 8 SB

Brett Anderson

• 6IP 3H 2ER 12K—Stellar AA debut, Anderson seems to have put his early struggles behind him

BUY/SELL Analysis

Kris Johnson was a supplimental 1st round pick in 2006 out of Witchita State.  He suffered an elbow injury and had Tommy John surgery following the 2006 season.  Johnson struggled a bit coming back last year, but has pitched well at AA.  While he has not dominated, .282 BAA, 38 BB, Johnson has found a way to win.  Johnson has good life on his fastball which can reach the mid-90’s, but his secondary pitches need some polish.  Johnson has autographed first year cards in the 2006 Bowman Draft and Chrome and Bowman Sterling.  The chrome autos sell for about $7-10 each and the Sterlings sell for about $6-8. 

Market Advice: The fact that Johnson is a Red Sox prospect makes him more attractive than if he was a Pirates or Marlins prospect.  I am having a hard time gauging where Johnson fits in, but the fact remains that he is a raw, left-handed prospect that throws in the low to mid 90’s.  He has to develop his secondary pitches or else he will be a lefty middle reliever, which is the equivalent of death as a baseball card prospect.  Tentatively, I would BUY a chrome auto and watch his development closely. Now that Masterson and Buchholz have shown their faces at Fenway, Johnson trails only Michael Bowden as Boston’s top minor league pitching prospects.

Alcides Escobar has been one of many Huntsville Stars prospects that has terrorized AA pitching this season.  In his previous 4 minor league seasons, Escobar accumulated just 7 HR in 1,595 AB.  This season, Escobar has 7 HR in just 341 AB.  Escobar has always been an above average SS, and now that his hitting seems to be on the upswing, it is just a matter of time before he is playing in Miller Park.  Escobar has 1st year cards in the 2006 Bowman Chrome Prospects set which are selling at $2 each. 

Market Advice: Escobar is never going to be a prolific power hitter, but he has an opportunity to be a special top of the order hitter in a offense-friendly ballpark.  At $2 each, it seems that Escobar is a solid BUY, and though he likely will not replicate these current numbers at the major league level, he still should receive a nice bump in value once he makes it to The Show.

6/15 High A Report

Posted by Jeremy on June 18, 2008 under Minor League Ball today | Be the First to Comment

Josh Reddick

• 2-6 2B 3B RBI—Having a great season at Lancaster, his first cards will be popular

Julio Borbon

• 4-4 HR(2) RBI 2 SB(33)—Projects to a 10-20 HR top of the order hitter, speed is ML ready

Tim Alderson

• 7 IP 4H BB 4K—Fine season for Sandy’s kid (6-3 2.84 ERA 63K/76IP)

Sean Doolittle

• 2-4 HR(16) RBI 2R BB—.332 53 RBI (81 K’s will need to be cut down at AA)

Brett Anderson

• 7 IP 3H ER 7K—4th straight good outing after disasterous 3 start stretch

Troy Tulowitzki

• 1-2 2B 2R 4BB—Tulo hitting .400 during his rehab stint, no need for Rockies to rush him

Carlos Peguero

• 1-4 3 RBi—60 RBI but plate discipline of a T-Baller (9BB/83K)

Cedric Hunter

• 3-5 2B 2R—.313 with 90 hits already 4 HR 39 RBI 31BB/25K

Brandon Allen

• 2-4 HR(12) RBI 2R BB—.289 37 RBI 9 SB .920 OPS

Jake Arietta

• 5.2 IP 8H 2ER BB 8K (ND)—5-2 2.72 ERA 82K/79.1 IP

Buy/Sell Analysis:

Brett Anderson was a 2007 2nd round selection of the Arizona Diamondbacksout of an Oklahoma HS, who was then traded to the Oakland A’s in the blockbuster Dan Haren deal.  Anderson has a big workhorse-like frame and advanced command of his fastball, change, and two breaking pitches.  This season has been a bit up and down for the big southpaw.  In his last 10 outings he has won 3, then lost 3 (including an abysmal May 16th outing where he surrendered 8 runs in 0.1 innings), and then won another 3 games.  Anderson’s cards are in the 2007 Bowman Chrome set.  He also has his first auto (#’ed to 549) in the popular Elite Extra set.  The Elite Extra autos sell for between $15-20 and his first year chrome cards can be had for about 75 cents to $1.25 in bulk.  Refractors of his are popular sellers right now selling as low as $7-9 for the regular ones and $16-20 for X-Fractors.  My personal feelings on Anderson is that he will be a mid-rotation lefty starter and there are other arms in the system that are flashier (Trevor Cahill, Craig Italiano, Fautino de los Santos) than his.  That being said, he is a solid bet to be a SP for the A’s who just seem to funnel quality pitching into their rotation year after year. 

Market Advice: I don’t see his autos growing much higher than their prices right now.  If you can get $20 for them, I would sell and shift those bucks to someone with higher upside.  As for the chromes, a batch of them at the above prices would be solid values.  I would stick to purchasing about $10-20 worth of his stuff as a “just in case” investment.

Brandon Allen is a prospect that I was very excited about when he came out in the 2004 Bowman Draft and Chrome set.  With a 6-2 235lb. frame and linebacker-like speed, Allen seemed to be a masher in the making.  Subsequently, he struggled mightily over his first 3 seasons with terrible plate discipline and so-so power numbers.  Last season at Kannapolis, he seemed to begin to turn things around, hitting .283 with 18 HR and 93 RBI.  This season, at High A Winston-Salem, Allen has improved his numbers across the board hitting .289 12 HR 37 RBI and 9 SB.  He still strikes out quite a bit (60K/65 games), but the walks are also increasing (36 at the midway point, compared to 39 all of last year).  That being said, Allen, despite his athleticism, is not a good fielder and will likely be relagated to 1B or DH in the major leagues.  Allen has first year autographed cards in the 2004 SP Prospects, and regular cards in the Bowman Chrome and Draft sets.  His autos are numbered to 500 and can be had for around $10 each.  His chrome cards are not sold in bulk very often, but can be had for 50 cents each.  I like the fact that Allen has improved steadily.  He is still a long way from Chicago, but I think he will make it.  Expect 25-30 HR from him this year, which should open the eyes of many collectors.

Market Advice: This is a guy to buy!  Grab as many autos of his from the SP Prospects set at $10-15.  Remember, SP Prospects cards have crazy value once players get recognized by the rest of the collecting masses.  While his chromes are hard to find in en masse quantities, you may have some success by talking to online dealers that you purchase from and asking them to check their inventories for any chrome Allens.  If you can get refractor versions, that is a bonus.  I would buy them freely at 25-50 percent of book.