Atlanta Sports Cards

“Money Where My Mouth Is”

June 18th, 2011

By Jamie Kennedy, ASC Exclusive Writer

To keep this commentary named “Money Where My Mouth Is,” instead of “I told you so,” I’m going to try not to brag right now.  But what fun is that? I debuted my column this week, on June 15th.  After touting Matt Moore in special sections of past hot sheets, I said this after asking readers to invest in Moore’s 2010 EEE card:

• “It just doesn’t get any better for Matt Moore fans.  First, his only auto remains the card shown above. Next, Moore isn’t slated to be in any upcoming products, besides a base card in the newly-delayed Platinum.  Lastly, with  90-20 K/BB ratio, and posting 8 straight quality starts, Moore’s 2010 Elite card, which oscillates between $16-$23, shouldn’t be expected to stay cheap for long.  He is a better prospect than Jennings AND Hellickson, two players who occupied many pre-season Top 10s. And Moore buyers will be rewarded in due time, which may be in the next 14 days.”

36 hours later, Moore threw the first 9 inning no-hitter of the year in the Minors.  His cards soared in price.

If that wasn’t enough, Dustin Ackley was called up to Seattle hours after I said this:

• “…the Ackley buy is on rumors only that he will be soon called up.  I don’t like Ackley long term at all, but a callup is an auto-jump for a prospect this large.”

So where do we go from here?  Will I ever be able to top the first column?

I only picked 5 prospect’s cards. Lightning barely ever strikes twice, but 3 times??  While perusing MILB.com like I love to do, I just stumbled on this article, starring, you guessed it, Taijuan Walker, and the article was all about last nights dominating start….This time, from Milb.com:

The 18-year-old right-hander allowed a run on two hits and two walks in his second-longest outing in nine starts as a pro.

Kane County’s Brian Fletcher doubled leading off the second inning, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Orlando Calixte’s two-out single to right field. Walker retired the next 14 batters until walking Fletcher in the seventh.

Walker (2-3) is holding right-handed hitters to a .163 average — a mark Fletcher overcame — while left-handed hitters are batting .292 against him.

The California native’s best start came on May 31 when he yielded three hits and fanned six over 7 2/3 shutout innings in a no-decision at Fort Wayne. Walker is winless in his last four outings, despite lowering his ERA from 4.03 to 2.40, which would rank eighth in the Midwest League if he had enough innings to qualify.”

That was the first run he’d let up in weeks.  His cards are advancing already.

The portfolio is up significantly, but lets hold the Moores, Walkers, and Ackleys for now.  Let’s add on a few more crucial cards.  Sorry I didn’t give you enough time to scoop Matt Moore cards….here are a few that you should have more time to invest in:

Holding #6: 2011 Bowman Retail Autographs Michael Pineda

They dipped to $35-$40 after an okay start, but they’ve climbed to $45-$50 since.  With Pineda this advanced, and having personally watched all of his starts this year, AND with 2010 Bowman Retail Autos on fire (Anthony Rizzo), I think this card is a no-brainer buy, despite the fact that his Topps Chrome auto will be out in 6-8 weeks.  This is the first auto, and chrome or not, it will pay dividends.  Pick 10 copies up as fast as you can.

Holding #7: 2010 Bowman Chrome ARODYS VIZCAINO Gold Refractor Autos /50

BA.com said this week: “With Vizcaino, the stuff has never been the question, but his health always has been. So Vizcaino’s recent promotion to Double-A Mississippi is notable both because it makes him one of the younger pitchers in the Southern League and also because with 66 innings, he’s on pace to blow past his career high of 85 last year. His stuff compares pretty favorably to fellow Braves prospects Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado. Teheran, Mike Minor and now Delgado are all getting starts in Atlanta because of injuries. Vizcaino isn’t ready to make that jump just yet, but he’s not far behind.”

Fellow prospectors, take note: Vizcaino is a classic case of an overlooked pitcher.  His name is hard to say.  He’s in the same organization as Julio Teheran.  But remember this:  Vizcaino has always projected to be a top of the rotation starter.  Its these type of pitchers (and less like back-of-rotation prospects like Brad Hand or Alex Cobb) that will make the biggest mark.  These cards sit at $100-$110.  Again, all bets are off as to when they triple that number.  Get all you can.  For the “PMMWMMI” portfolio, lets officially buy 3.  If you can’t get all golds, Oranges at $130 will suffice.

Holding #8-  2007 Bowman Chrome DELLIN BETANCES Auto Refractor /500

The next REAL Yankee superstar prospect is this man.   Just 21, he has arguably the nastiest stuff in AA.  The last copy on Ebay did $32.  Let’s pick up 6 if we can.  His 1.76 ERA paces all of AA, and his .176 BAA also  leads AA, and trails only Robbie Erlin for the best in the average against in the minors.

2011 Season
Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
TRN	EAS	3	2	1.76	11	11	0	0	0	56.1	37	17	11	4	27	66	1.45	.176
Minors		3	2	1.76	11	11	0	0	0	56.1	37	17	11	4	27	66	1.45	.176

So currently we have added 8 different cards, in varying quantities, to the portfolio.  These are no-brainer buys, and don’t be surprised if they go up….faster than you may think.  Who cares if I am just psychic?  It’ll work out great for my readers.

“Money Where My Mouth Is”  is hobby guru Jamie Kennedy’s new bi-weekly column where he chronicles the monetary gains and or losses on recommended buys.  In a span of 3 days, after Mr. Kennedy gave his first 5 buys, 3 of those prospects have owned the spotlight.  Along with the most comprehensive weekly Hot Sheet on the Internet, Jamie’s writings can only be found in one place exclusively- AtlantaSportsCards.com.

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