2016 Bowman Baseball Autographs - Prospects To Buy (Part 2)

Here are a few more prospects I like out of the recent 2016 Bowman Baseball release.

Atlanta Braves 3b - Juan Yepez -Yepez had a nice rookie campaign showing a little power and hit for a decent average. I will be watching closely to see if is BB:K rate improves and if his extra base hits increase. He is only 18 so there is a lot of room for growth. This recommendation is more of a watch and see than a buy.

Boston Red Sox P - Anderson Espinoza - Anderson is putting up an impressive 12 SO9 this season. He is a hard thrower with impressive stuff. The prices do reflect the success. Base autos are selling for $30-40 dollars.

Christin Stewart - #1 On Baseball America's Hot List

Christin Stewart of the Detroit Tigers is #1 on Baseball America's hot list this week. Stewart is showing some impressive power with a total of 12 HR's so far this season. The strikeouts are up there but he does have 19 walks on the year so he does have some plate discipline. It's just a matter of time before he makes another adjustment and moves up to AA. I rate him as a BUY. Get his auto's while you can. They are selling like hotcakes on eBay.


Buy Christin Stewart Auto's Here

How a Prospector Deals With PED Suspensions

This week Raul Mondesi Jr was suspended 50 games for testing positive for clenbuterol, an anabolic substance. If you had stock in Raul I would suspect that you are upset right now. A major league debut or promotion to AAA was right around the corner. So what should holders of Raul's auto's do next? In this case the best option would be to HOLD. Selling at this point would result in a loss in my opinion. According to the reports, MILB was going to issue a 80 game ban but Raul was able to negotiate a lighter punishment since he provided the source of the banned substance (cold medicine). It seems that it was an honest mistake but we can never be sure with these suspensions. Youth is on his side so if he comes back and puts this behind him profits can still be made. For prospectors who currently do not hold, this might be an opportunity to purchase some auto's at a discount price. Overall, this is just another reason why I try to avoid high end prospects. The impact on profits could be devastating depending on the situation.

2016 Bowman Baseball Autographs - Prospects To Buy

2016 Bowman Baseball has been released and here are some names that prospectors should consider. If you want to know my philosophy on how I choose these prospects, please read my previous posts analyzing 2015 Bowman Draft and 2014 Bowman Draft. Overall there were not too many choices that got my attention outside of the obvious high end guys (Moncada, Bregman, Robles). Please make sure to watch Ebay and other secondary markets closely for prices. I expect cases are still being ripped open so prices should normalize out over the next few weeks.


Seattle Mariners - Tyler O'Neill - I have to admit I never heard of this kid before this season started but he is putting up some good numbers in Double A as a 20 year old. 6HR/.324 Avg/ .945 OPS. I will be watching closely to see if he improves on his BB/K. Autos can be purchased for $10-$15.


Philadelphia Phillies - Jhailyn Ortiz - Ortiz has not played a game of pro ball yet but his auto's are still selling for $10-$15. Why? Well according to the scouting reports this kid has some impressive power. At full maturity most scouts expect him to hit 25 homers annually while playing 1st base. I would suggest carefully monitoring prices as well as his progress before purchasing.


Stay tuned for Part 2 in the next few days.

2016 Bowman Baseball Autograph Checklist With Links to Ebay

CPA-AA Anthony Alford - Toronto Blue Jays
CPA-AB Alex Bregman - Houston Astros
CPA-AE Anderson Espinoza - Boston Red Sox
CPA-AJ Ariel Jurado - Texas Rangers
CPA-AS Anfernee Seymour - Miami Marlins
CPA-BL Brady Lail - New York Yankees
CPA-BR Brendan Rodgers - Colorado Rockies
CPA-DA Domingo Acevedo - New York Yankees
CPA-DAS Dansby Swanson - Atlanta Braves
CPA-DC Daz Cameron - Houston Astros
CPA-DD David Denson - Milwaukee Brewers
CPA-DJ Drew Jackson - Seattle Mariners
CPA-FK Franklyn Kilome - Philadelphia Phillies
CPA-FM Francis Martes - Houston Astros
CPA-IA Iolana Akau - Oakland Athletics
CPA-JC Jharel Cotton - Los Angeles Dodgers
CPA-JO Jhailyn Ortiz - Philadelphia Phillies
CPA-JY Juan Yepez - Atlanta Braves

CPA-KK Kevin Kramer - Pittsburgh Pirates
CPA-KM Kenta Maeda - Los Angeles Dodgers
CPA-LF Lucius Fox - San Francisco Giants
CPA-MD Mauricio Dubon - Boston Red Sox
CPA-MZ Mark Zagunis - Chicago Cubs
CPA-NS Nate Smith - Los Angeles Angels
CPA-PD Paul DeJong - St. Louis Cardinals
CPA-RB Rafael Bautista - Washington Nationals
CPA-RG Ruddy Giron - San Diego Padres
CPA-SC Samuel Coonrod - San Francisco Giants
CPA-SG Stone Garrett - Miami Marlins
CPA-SR Sal Romano - Cincinnati Reds
CPA-TM Trey Mancini - Baltimore Orioles
CPA-TO Tyler O'Neill - Seattle Mariners
CPA-VR Victor Robles - Washington Nationals
CPA-WC Willson Contreras - Chicago Cubs
CPA-YM Yoan Moncada - Boston Red Sox

Colorado Rockies David Dahl - Power Surge?

One of my favorite prospects is putting up some impressive power numbers in Double A (8 HR). After dealing with injuries the last few seasons it looks like David Dahl is finally healthy. I understand that Dahl is choosing power over strikeouts but I still love him as a prospect. Check out this article where Dahl discusses his new approach at the plate to ease your worries. I still rate him as a strong buy.

Link to MILB Stats


Link to Auto's on Ebay

Prospect Case Study - Trevor Story (SS, Colorado Rockies)

If you have been following the first few weeks of the MLB season the biggest story (no pun intended) is Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story. Story has been discussed on this blog as far back as 2013 when he was a bargain bin selection. Now his cards are going through the roof as he puts up record breaking numbers. I had a nice stash of Trevor Story that I sold for a profit a while back but those numbers seem small compared to the prices I have seen on EBay lately. So what is the lesson that can be learned? Patience. Being patient is key to being a good prospector. Prospects have ups and downs on their road to the majors so holding a prospect may seem painful at times but can be rewarding if you can hold out. This is always on a case by case basis. If you have a chance to take a profit by all means take it but when anomalies occur having a short memory helps too.

Tyler Stephenson Scouting Report - Cincinatti Reds

Basic Info: Birthdate: 08/16/1996

Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6-4/225
Position: C

Team: Cincinnati Reds
Card: 2015 Bowman Chrome Draft

Recent Pricing:
Base Auto: $7 - $10 Refractor: $10-$20 

2015 Stats (Rookie Ball): .268/.352/.712, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 28 Runs, 194 AB

Scouting Report:

When you analyze the talent in the major and minor leagues, the catching position is not as deep as other positions on the diamond. Tyler Stephenson is one of the few catching prospects I like in baseball today.

Stephenson was taken by the Reds 11th overall in the 2015 draft. There was even rumors that he could go #1 overall. Why do I like him? Well one reason is that for a kid being drafted out of high school his hit tool is above average. Scouts speculate that Stephenson shows enough raw power to hit 20 home runs in a season to go along with an advanced hitting approach. Baseball America graded his hit tool very high (120 total) which is a great sign for a young player out of high school.   

Verdict: Strong Buy 

Link to MILB Stats



A Prospector's Breakdown of The 2016 Top 100 Prospects

Recently Baseball America released it's top 100 prospect list. Using their Top 100 2016 Prospects List, here are the toolsiest prospects, with ratings from 80 (Elite) down to 20 (Poor) based on the scouting scale.

Corey Seager Named Baseball's Top Prospect By MLB.com

MLB.com recently named Corey Seager the top prospect in baseball. Immediately after the announcement was made his card prices rose at an exponential rate. A price rise of this nature is common when the top prospect is announced before the season starts. I expect the rise in prices to continue as other publications announce Seager as their top prospect (Baseball America). For prospectors who have the budget, this might be a good time to invest in other top 10 prospects that prices are still reasonable (Crawford, Buxton,Giolito). Who do you guys think will be No.1 in 2017?