Atlanta Sports Cards
Feature Article- Speedsters
Tuesday, May 3rd
Written by James Graham, ASC Contributor. Edited by James Kennedy.
“Nine Spot to Watch- Youthful Speedsters”
1. Mike Trout OF LAA D.O.B. 8/7/91
One of the top prospects in all of minor league baseball, Trout had tremendous success last season with his bat and his feet. He swiped 56 bases in 2010 while marinating an OBP of .428, which led to Trout scoring over 100 runs. Trout comes into 2011 with lofty expectations as he was the #1 or #2 prospect in the game on everyone’s Top 100. He has 2009 autographs in Elite Extra and Bowman Draft. In 2010 he was in the Bowman Platinum autograph set. With no USA autos, his 09 draft is by far his hottest card doing around 80-90 raw. SPEED GRADE: 80 (out of 80)
2. Jean Segura SS LAA D.O.B. 3/17/90
With all the hype on Trout, Segura was easily overlooked in 2010 and has gained steam as a prospect over the offseason. People had time to ruminate over his impressive stats and by 2010, he was drawing comps to Hanley Ramirez. Last year, Segura hit .313 with 50 stolen bases and was only caught 10 times. With a red hot start to 2011 Segura already has 6 steals and is hitting over .400. Like with Trout, speed + a high OBP = plenty of runs scored. He is a future fantasy stud. For now though, his only autograph is 2010 Elite Extra Edition. They started off at $2 apiece and now sit at $20. There’splenty of upside left though. SPEED GRADE: 75
3. Gary Brown OF SF D.O.B. 8/9/91
Brown started off 2011 with a bang, having an OBP of .434 so far and 18 steals. Look for Brown to be San Fran’s future CF and leadoff man in the foreseeable future. Even in college Brown was known for OBP and steals, so look for Brown to have a similar season to Segura’s 2010 with a lot of steals and decent average. Brown is in all 3 Rookie autograph sets, Bowman Draft, Sterling, and Elite Extra. I think his elite will become the best of all his cards because it is short printed to /199 and is a redemption, which leads to some extra short prints. SPEED GRADE: 75
4. Eury Perez OF WAS D.O.B. 5/30/90
In low A last year, Perez lit up the bases with 64 steals in just 77 attempts. He also managed a .299 average. Perez needs to get better at plate discipline and lower his strikeouts; only then can he truly become a legitimate leadoff star for the Nats. His only auto appears in 2010 Bowman Chrome. SPEED GRADE: 75
5. Cesar Puello OF NYM D.O.B. 4/1/91
A former international signee by the Mets, Puello came into 2010 with 45 swipes in 55 tries. He was able to hit around the .300 mark but much like Perez above, he needs to cut down on his strikeouts (82). Puello is still young and is Baseball America’s #3 prospect in the Mets organization. His lone auto is 2010 Bowman Sterling, which is a rare thing- there is one of only a handful of guys that weren’t in any other set’s but Sterling in 2010. SPEED GRADE: 70
6. Yorman Rodriguez, IF, CIN. D.O.B. 8/15/92
A gem found in the international market again for Cincinnati [with Aroldis Chapman], as they get another young Caribbean player with tons of talent. Rodriguez only appeared in 43 games last year in the Short Season Pioneer league, but managed to hit 3 triples and swipe12 bags. He managed to hit .339 in an impressive first season. This year he is off to the Midwest League and is off to rough start but we’re barely into the season.. His only upcoming autograph is in 2011 Bowman Platinum, and because he retains a low profile, scooping quantities up cheap shouldn’t be hard. SPEED GRADE: 70
7. Jay Austin OF HOU D.O.B. 10/8/90
Managing a measly .261 average in 2010 and an OBP of just .314, he still had the speed to steal 54 bases. Last year he had 178 walks + hits and managed to steal a base in over 1 in every 4 times he reached base. That is an amazing stat as he is off to a hot start this year in the California League hitting over .350 with 7 steals so far. Austin has a 2009 Bowman Chrome Autograph, a 2008 Bowman Chrome base chrome, a 2008 Elite Extra Autograph, a 2008 Razor Autograph, and auto cards in both 2008 Playoff Contenders and 2008 Donruss Threads [Letterman]. SPEED GRADE: 75
8. Matt Lipka SS ATL D.O.B. 4/15/92
A top pick in 2010 Lipka showed his wheels in 2010, swiping 20 bags in 23 attempts, So far in 2011, he already has 4 with a low OPB. He hasn’t thrived, but has not exactly struggled either. Look for him to get more comfortable in the leadoff spot and use his legs more to ultimately become a future middle infield All Star. Lipka has two non-insert autographs: 2010 Elite Extra and 2010 Bowman Sterling. The super-short printed AFLAC commands in excess of $200. SPEED GRADE: 75
9. Billy Hamilton SS CIN D.O.B. 9/9/90
This former 2nd round pick did not disappoint in 2010, hitting .318 and swiping 48 bags. Hamilton already has 11 steals in 2011 and has only been caught once so far. He is a possible future top 100 prospect and with his great speed and superb baserunning instincts, look for him to use it to his advantage in the near future to move up Cincinatti’s farm system. Hamilton’s only card is 2009 Bowman Draft Chrome. SPEED GRADE: 80
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