Posted by Jeremy on August 4, 2009 under Market Watch | 
We’ve been musing about it for a while now and, while I expected this move to happen in September, the Baltimore Orioles have called up their prized southpaw and #4 overall pick from last year Brian Matusz to make his MLB debut on the road against the Detroit Tigers. Matusz has been lights out this season at both High-A and AA going 11-2 with a 1.91 ERA and 31 BB/121 K in his 113 innings of work. Given his workload to date, it seems improbable that the O’s will keep Matusz up for the rest of the season.
Even more intriguing to me is how the eBay market will respond to Brian Matusz’s various Razor cards. Remember, Razor notched an exclusive deal with Matusz and, outside of his assortment of UD Team USA cards, the company has cornered the market on his cards. To date, the baseball collecting world has not warmed to Razor’s offerings to the same degree that they have with the larger manufacturers. However, Matusz’s debut marks the beginning of several other impending debuts from top ‘08 draftees that they have exclusive deals with like Justin Smoak, Pedro Alvarez, Brett Wallace and Yonder Alonso.
My gut tells me that the market will not respond with the same voracity that it would if these cards were issued by a Topps, Donruss, or Upper Deck brand, but the demand for these cards will grow as these young future stars start to don their first MLB uniforms.
Tags: 2008 mlb draft, autographed cards rookie cards, baseball cards, brian matusz, brian matusz auto, brian matusz debut, brian matusz orioles, brian matusz razor, brian matusz rc, brian matusz rookie cards, ebay, major league debuts, minor league prosepcts, sportscards
Posted by Jeremy on July 28, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Cleveland Indians 1B prospect Beau Mills rapped two more homeruns last night, raising his season total to 10. Yesterday’s pair of HR’s marks the first time this season that Mills has went yard in back to back games. He’s been, in my opinion, a mild disappointment during his first full year at AA, hitting .261 with 10 HR 54 RBI and 22 doubles. His contact numbers are solid with just 64 K’s in 101 games, but he’s walked just 24 times and has a .305 OBP. June and July has shown an uptick in his numbers and could be an indicator of a strong finish to his season. The Indians just traded Ryan Garko last night to the San Francisco Giants which should open up a litany of future options for the Tribe at 1B. Will they move LaPorta there or, perhaps, Nick Weglarz or Wes Hodges? My gut says that Mills is still the long term guy and a strong finish to his ‘09 season will go a long way towards confirming that thought.
Kyle Drabek had a solid outing last night in what may be his last as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Drabek tossed seven innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs while striking out five en route to his 11th win on the season. Drabek has been at the center of trade rumors as a primary piece in the deal that could potentially send Roy Halladay to the Phillies. Philadelphia’s hesitance to trade him is a primary indicator on just how far he has come this season. Last year, the 21 year old battled injuries and concerns about his make up but his future really seemed to turn towards the positive after a strong showing in the Hawaiian Winter League. The value of Drabek’s 2006 and 2007 autos will be strongest if he remains a member of the Phillies. Philadelphia remains a major market team primed to sustain a long run of success in the NL East. However if Drabek is dealt, the opportunity for him to make a 2009 MLB debut rises significantly and with that the short term value of his cards.
Today’s top AA prospect is another elite pitching prospect, Brian Matusz. Seven innings of four hit, six strikeout ball raises his perfect AA record to 7-0 and gives him 11 total wins this season. Chris Tillman was just called up by the Orioles to make his MLB debut and to further rub salt into the wounds of the Seattle Mariners who just recently put much maligned starter Erik Bedard on the DL….again. The move by the O’s may soon open up a spot for Matusz to move up another notch to AAA Norfolk. I expect that this will happen within his next couple of starts. Matusz’s 2008 Razor cards range from about $12-15 for his Exclusive autos and $15-18 for his serial #’ed cards. If he gets the call in September, these cards could jump significantly.
AA Player of the Day—BRIAN MATUSZ
Other Notable Performances
Hitting:
- Jordan Danks—2-5 R RBI
- C.J. Retherford—2-4 2B RBI BB
- Michael Stanton—1-4 HR(22) 3 RBI
- Logan Morrison—1-3 HR(6) RBI
- Josh Thole—4-5 2B 3R BB SB(5)
- Ike Davis—2-6 2B R
- Lucas Duda—1-5 2B 2 RBI 2R BB
- D.J. Wabick—3-6 HR(2) 6 RBI 2R
- Nick Weglarz—2-4 HR(14) 2 RBI
- Carlos Santana—1-4 HR(19) RBI
- Beau Mills—2-4 2 HR(10) 2 RBI
- Michael Daniel—3-4 HR(4) 3 RBI 2R BB
- Josh Reddick—2-4 2B R BB
- Ryan Kalish—1-4 HR(10) RBI
- Mitch Moreland—2-5 R RBI
- Taylor Green—2-5 2B HR(6) 2 RBI
- Lorenzo Cain—1-3 HR(2) 2 RBI BB
- Corey Wimberley—3-4 3 RBI BB R 2 SB(14)
- Matt Sulentic—2-3 2B 2R 2 RBI BB SB(19)
- Chris Carter—1-4 2B 2R 2 RBI 2 BB
- Tony Thomas—2-4 HR(9) 2 RBI 2R
- Mark Reed—2-4 2R 2B 2 RBI
Pitching:
- Tommy Mendoza—7 IP 4H ER 3K
- Tyson Ross—6 IP 4H Er BB 3K W (6-6)
- Steven Johnson—6 IP 3H BB 7K W (9-5)
- Luis Atilano—7 IP 6H 2 BB 3K W (5-7)
- Dylan Owen—5 IP 6H 3 BB 3K
- Brian Matusz—7 IP 4H 3 BB 6K W (11-2)
- Kyle Drabek—7 IP 7H 2 ER 5K W (9-5)
Tags: baseball card investments, beau mills, brian matusz, brian matusz auto, brian matusz razor, brian matusz rc, carlos santana, chris carter, dylan owen, ebay, ike davis, jordan danks, Josh Reddick, josh thole, kyle drabek, logan morrison, lorenzo cain, major league baseball, major league prospects, matt sulentic, michael daniel, michael stanton, Minor League Baseball, minor league prospects, mitch moreland, nick weglarz, rookie cards, rookie prospects, ryan kalish, sports cards investments, sportscards, taylor green, tyson ross
