Game 15: Wander Franco Drama, Babe Ruth, Noelvi Marte, Bill Russell, Jackson Holliday, Colson Montgomery
Weekly Roundup 8/14 - 8/20
The Roundup
This week Wander Franco was placed on the restricted list pending an ongoing investigation into allegations of his relationship with a minor. If the allegations are true, chances are, Franco’s career is over. He was the most highly touted prospect since Mike Trout, and while I can’t find the sale price of Franco’s 1st Bowman Auto Superfractor, his 1st Bowman /5 sold for $198,030 in 2021. When we first started this blog a few months ago, we released an article discussing the pros and cons of investing in sealed boxes or specific players. While we obviously couldn’t predict this circumstance, it just goes to show that betting on players can have unforeseen and costly risks.
A Babe Ruth 1923 game used bat sold for $1.3 million at Robert Edwards Auction last week. Not only is this a game used bat, Ruth hit a home run with it. Pretty cool to own a 100 year old bat used by The Sultan of Swat!
Once again, the “Prospect of the Week” timing has been spot on. This week, the Reds promoted Noelvi Marte to the Majors, two weeks after his Stealing Home feature. As you may remember, Marte was the Mariners prospect highlighting the trade for Luis Castillo. In his first four at-bats, Marte is 1-4 with a double.
Trivia Question of the Week
This week, Julio Rodriguez hit 17 hits in 4 games. Only one other player since 1900 has had 16 hits in 4 games! Who was the other player to do it and what year?
Sales: Bill Russell Base #77, SGC 6
A 1957 Topps Bill Russell Base #77 SGC 6 set an all-time high, selling at Robert Edwards Auction for $24,600. In January, this card sold for $9,900. In other words, this card is up 148.48% in seven months.
New Releases
2023 Bowman Chrome Hobby Box and HTA boxes are out for presale. The boxes are scheduled for release on September 13th. However, there’s always a chance the release is delayed. If memory serves me right, last year’s release was originally scheduled for September but delayed until December. While the boxes sold out on the Topps website, they’re available on Blowoutcards. As always, the Hobby Boxes include twelve packs and two autographs while the HTAs include three cards, all autographs. The Hobby Box is selling for $279.95 and the HTA for 349.95.
Topps will release the Bowman Chrome checklist about a week or so before the release.
Additionally, 2023 Topps Pristine is set to be released on August 25th. Each Hobby Box includes two autographs, one autograph relic, 10 base card refractors, and five insert cards. The box is on presale now for $369.95.
Trending Up, Trending Down
Trending Up: Jackson Holliday [+30.17]
Unsurprisingly, Jackson Holliday continues to trend up. With 424 minor league at-bats, Holliday is hitting .330/.462/.976. The Orioles haven’t ruled out promoting Holliday to the majors. I have a feeling it’ll happen soon.
I’d personally love some user feedback. I was lucky enough to pull a Jackson Holliday 1st Bowman Auto Refractor and immediately sent it to PSA. It came back a 10. The going price for that card and grade is about $2,200. Considering his outstanding minor league campaign, do I sell while he sits atop the trending up list, or do I hold and hope he meets/surpasses expectations?
Trending down: Wander Franco [-36.31%]
This comes as no surprise, given the recent news. Franco’s cards are down 36.31%.
What is surprising is that Franco is second behind Victor Wembanyama, whose cards are down a staggering 42.74%. I haven’t seen any news about Wembanyama, so I’m not sure what’s causing that drop.
Grading Specials
SGC continues its 2023 Topps Chrome special, grading each card for $9.
Prospect of the Week: Colson Montgomery
SS, Birmingham Barons, AA, ETA 2024
This weekend, I was on the beach in New Buffalo, Michigan with some family – die hard White Sox fans and so this week’s feature is the top Sox prospect, Colson Montgomery. A 6’4’’ lefty, Montgomery is one of the most athletic prospects in baseball. In highschool, he led the Southridge High (Indiana) Raiders basketball team in scoring (a school record) on their way to their first state championship. Rather than take a baseball scholarship at Indiana University (with an opportunity to walk onto the basketball team), Montgomery signed with the White Sox after being drafted 22nd overall in the MLB draft.
Montgomery has had a very strong minor league career at the plate. In 2022, he progressed from Low-A to High-A to AA, hitting a very solid .274 along the way. In 2023, he continued his minor league success, slashing .316/.505/.526 in 39 games. While a 6’4’’ shortstop is rare, the White Sox believe his athleticism will keep him there.
Shout out to Jimmy, Meg, Mark, Stevie, & Julie! Go Sox (except when they play the Ms this week)!
Scouting grades:
Hit: 60 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60
Trivia Answer of the Week
Milt Stock had 16 hits for the Brooklyn Robins in 1925