Game 11: Adley Rutshman, Colton Cowser, More Ohtani & De La Cruz, Jackson Merrill

Weekly Roundup 7/9/23-7/16/23

The Roundup

Hello all,

It was a fun All-Star weekend with some notable highlights. The Stealing Home team was at T-Mobile Park in Seattle for both the All Star Game and Home Run Derby where Adley Rutschman showed off why he was the Number 1 draft pick in 2019. During the Home Run Derby, Rutschman hit 21 home runs batting lefty. Then, during his 30 seconds of bonus time, decided to switch to his right side… He crushed six home runs in eight pitches. 

The Orioles called up Colton Cowser last Wednesday. He went 1-3 with an RBI in his debut. Through an insignificant 16 at bats, he has three hits. 

Other prospects who have been called up this week are Johan Rojas (Phillies), Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof (A’s), and Quinn Priester (Pirates). 

Away from baseball, apparently there’s a Netflix store… I had no idea. I saw an advertisement for Stranger Things Cards trading cards and had to check it out. It’s clearly Netflix finding an opportunity to capitalize on the collectibles market boom. Netflix is producing 11,111 boxes (see what they did there?) with cards portraying one of 18 characters from season four. Additionally, they’re including numbered parallels from /250 down to 1/1 (because, of course they are). The boxes are on sale for $50.

I checked the product out, laughed, and exited out. About a minute later, I went back to the page and bought a box. I’m not proud to admit that, but hey, Strangers Things is a cultural phenomenon… Maybe they’ll be valuable in 15 or so years. For $50, I took the (probably dumb) risk. 

Trivia Question of the Week

Why is the San Diego baseball team named the Padres?

Sales: The Ohtani Craze

Oh man. There was a great article on ESPN+ analyzing whether Ohtani had the greatest month (June) in baseball history. Well his card values reflect that question. PSA 10s of his base Bowman Chrome Rookie Card (non-autographed) are selling for over $1,200 and on July 3rd (we didn’t report due to our Futures Game special), a PSA 10 2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Green Refractor Auto /99 sold for a whopping $32,900. On July 21, 2022, another PSA 10 sold for $12,100. 

Ohtani is also about to enter even more insane hype as we approach the MLB trade deadline and the end of his current contract with the Angels.

New Releases

2023 Panini Prizm Hobby Box is scheduled for release on July 21st.  

Trending Up, Trending Down

Trending Up: Elly De La Cruz; Shohei Ohtani

Elly De La Cruz continues to sizzle, up 65.88% over the last 30 days. It’s obvious that his cards are in a bit of a bubble. BUT DID YOU SEE THE INSANE 3 STOLEN BASES ON 2 PITCHES?!? Since he continues his streak as the top player, we’ll again look at who’s following: Shohei Ohtani. 

No shock there considering the year Ohtani is having. Over the last 30 days, Ohtani’s card values are up 24.32%.

Trending down: Jarred Kelenic; Jordan Walker

The trends continue down as well… Jarred Kelenic’s value continues to tank – down 20.02% over the last 30 days. Following him is another player who’s found himself on this list - Jordan Walker whose cards are down 13.22%.

Grading Specials 

SGC has a special - grading any football card for $15 per card.

PSA also has a special - grading any 1980’s sports card (valued at less than $199) for $15 per card.

Prospect of the Week: Jackson Merrill

Jackson Merrill, Padres, SS, 20

Merrill, who played in the MLB Futures game last Saturday, has been in the news recently as a potential trade piece in the Padres’ pursuit of Shohei Ohtani. 

Drafted in the 1st round (pick #27) by the Padres in 2021, Merrill is currently the Padres’ top prospect. Through 300 at-bats in A+, Merrill is slashing .280/.318/.444. 

Merrill’s PSA 10 1st Bowman Auto is selling for about $120.00. Not a bad price considering he’s the Padres’ #1 prospect and, according to Baseball America, the #17 prospect in baseball. 

Scouting Grades: 

Hitting: 60, Power: 500, Speed: 50, Fielding: 55, Arm: 55 Overall: 55

Trivia Answer of the Week

The name is “fathers” in Spanish and refers to the Franciscan friars who founded San Diego in 1769.