Hobby News
Atlanta Sports Cards
Our friends at topprospectalert.com do a great job on their Twitter account. Real-Time Minor League happenings. This is their take on the show:
Modern single cards, especially those from Bowman rookie and prospect products were selling very well. Most bargin boxes were elbow to elbow with collectors jostling for position to find a bargain. As was the case with vintage discount boxes. Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt, and Jurikson Profar seemed to be among the most heavily sold rookies at the show.
Goldschmidt, just called up to the majors with Arizona, is a plus power slugger, but by no means is he even in the same class as Braun or Texiera. Harper continues to struggle, but because the hype is so large, demand is high, and prices on his singles are soft- but selling well, as collectors have been told he is the next big thing.
Which brings me to Jurickson Profar. Born 2/93, he JUST TURNED 18. Which is fine and all, but after an awesome future game showing where he showed off his SS ability and legged out a stand up triple that most ball players would have settled for a double, momentum gained. After a few BA hot sheet appearances, his prices have taken off. Most desirable is the 2011 Bowman Auto, but don’t sleep on the 2010 Elite Profar Auto /390, a short print. Out of the 3 biggest sellers, Profar is your best bet by miles:
| Team | League | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| HIC | SAL | .289 | 91 | 346 | 70 | 100 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 173 | 54 | 46 | 15 | 9 | .395 | .500 | .895 |
| Minors | .289 | 91 | 346 | 70 | 100 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 173 | 54 | 46 | 15 | 9 | .395 | .500 | .895 |
If you look at the bolded numbers, this is his walk to strikeout ratio. Is this for real? At 18, he is one of the only people in the Minors that walks more than they K. And he isnt even close to being 50/50. Power was always going to develop, but with 10 HRs and 30 doubles, this kid is SCARY good.
Lets compare his BB/K ratio with Harpers and Goldschmidt. Let me say that guys that walk more than they strike out have tremendous discipline, bat speed, and hand-eye that translate almost 100% into MLB success. This is a HUGE cue to look out for when evaluating prospects.
Paul Goldschmidt, 24 years old on the 10th of this month, 6 years older than Profar:
| Team | League | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| MOB | SOU | .306 | 103 | 366 | 84 | 112 | 21 | 3 | 30 | 94 | 229 | 82 | 92 | 9 | 3 | .435 | .626 | 1.061 |
| Minors | .306 | 103 | 366 | 84 | 112 | 21 | 3 | 30 | 94 | 229 | 82 | 92 | 9 | 3 | .435 | .626 | 1.061 |
Not bad, in fact better than most.
Bryce Harper:
| Team | League | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| HAG | SAL | .318 | 72 | 258 | 49 | 82 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 46 | 143 | 44 | 61 | 19 | 5 | .423 | .554 | .977 |
| HAR | EAS | .242 | 27 | 95 | 11 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 1 | .305 | .337 | .642 |
| Minors | .297 | 99 | 353 | 60 | 105 | 23 | 1 | 15 | 51 | 175 | 53 | 80 | 23 | 6 | .393 | .496 | .888 |
As you can see, the most expensive and heralded player in the card market owns a paltry 53:80 BB/k ratio, or a little worse than 3:4. Profar, at a ratio of 6:5, technically is more advanced at the plate than Harper.
Thanks again to TPA for their show updates and their commentary. We leave you with this final report:
Tons of awesome vintage stuff, a lot of wax from [Industry giants] Atlanta Sports cards among others.
Thats us! Come by this weekend. Were in Chicago at the National Convention!
Be well,
Jamie Kennedy
Tags: atlanta sports, Auto, best bet, BREAKING, com, discount boxes, Draft, future game, goldschmidt, hobby news, league happenings, news, OPS, POWER, Profar, seat, Show, SLG, sports, sports cards, strikeout, texiera