Game 3: Raffle Winner, 2009 Mike Trout, 1952 Mickey Mantle, Ethan Salas
Game 3: Raffle Winner, 2009 Mike Trout, 1952 Mickey Mantle, Ethan Salas
Weekly Roundup 5/1/23-5/7/23
And The Winner Is: Ashton L.
As a thank you to our early subscribers, we entered everyone into a raffle to win a a 2021 Bowman Chrome Hobby Box! Congratulations to Ashton L.! You won. Be on the lookout for an email and we’ll get that box shipped to you tomorrow!
The Roundup
Druw Jones Bounty Update
As we shared last week, Dave and Adam’s put a $250,000 bounty on the Druw Jones Superfractor (if found in the first month after the release). So far, no news that it’s been found. However, a few of his orange auto refractors have been pulled, in addition to at least one red refractor. His purple refractor /250 sold on eBay for $7,000.
Card Redemption Wait Times
One of the more frustrating aspects of the hobby is the long waits for redemptions. I sent some redemption cards to Topps a couple of months ago and am still waiting to receive them. I know I’m not alone. If you want to check on the status of your redemptions, here is a Topps link with updated redemption information.
An Impressive Bryce Miller Debut
Bryce Miller, who MLB.com ranks as the #88 prospect, made his MLB debut this past week with the Mariners. Miller made quite the splash, becoming just the third pitcher in MLB history to notch 10+ strikeouts and no walks in his debut, joining Johnny Cueto (2008, Reds) and Stephen Strasburg (2010, Nationals).
Trivia Question of the Week
Which two pitchers have won three Cy Young Awards, thrown three no-hitters, and won two world series championships?
Sales: 2009 Bowman Draft Mike Trout
We’ve been pretty heavy on Mike Trout content the past couple weeks, but this is too big not to cover. Goldin Auctions is listing a 2009 Bowman Draft Mike Trout Red Auto Refractor /5 graded 10 by PSA. Last year, PWCC sold a BGS 9.5 Red Auto Refractor for $1,080,000. Only two PSA 10’s exist, and there is no sales history for the grade. I expect the card to flirt with $2 million. The auction is set to begin on May 12th.
Another notable listing on Goldin that we’ll keep our eyes on is the famous 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 8. At $12.6 million, the SGC 9.5 graded 52’ Mantle is the highest-selling card ever. A last PSA 8 sold in 2022 and went for $1.56 million.
New Releases
May 10th: 2023 Panini Donruss Baseball
Since Panini lost its license with the MLB Players Association at the end of 2022, this set will no longer include current players. Instead, the set includes prospects and retired players. The set checklist has yet to be released, but it will include inserts, autographs and more.
Grading Specials
Last week’s specials are still running:
SGC is running a special – grading any Bowman Baseball card for $9 with no minimum submission size and an expected turnaround time of 5-10 days!
PSA is running a special for Collectors Club Members to grade cards for $16 per card. The one caveat is that members must submit a minimum of 20 cards valued at $299.
Trending Up, Trending Down: Week of the Spencers
Trending Up: Spencer Strider
Strider is leading all baseball players, up 20.64% over the last 30 days. He sits .94% below Jimmy Butler for the largest increase across all sports. A base 1st Bowman Strider PSA 10 is selling for around $52 on eBay. A black auto refractor /75 graded BGS 10 sold for $1,711.49.
Trending Down: Spencer Torkelson
Torkelson is down 30.17% over the last 30 days, his second week in this undesirable position. He’s currently hitting .214 with two home runs. However, don’t get too down on Torkelson just yet. Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Julio Rodriguez, was hitting .205 with precisely zero home runs at the end of April 2022.
Torkelson’s 1st Bowman Auto Refractor PSA 10 is selling for around $373.00.
Prospect of the Week: Ethan Salas
Ethan Salas (C, San Diego Padres) checks in as the youngest prospect on the MLB.com Top 100 prospects list. At 16 years old, Salas is two years younger than the next youngest prospect on the list, giving him plenty of time to move up from his #96 ranking to MLB.com.
Salas was the No. 1 international prospect in 2023, signing with the Padres for $5.6 million (consuming nearly all of the Padres’ base signing pool of $5.825). Proponents of the big signing bonus suggest Salas could be a rare (the first?) five-tool catcher.
The list of teenage MLB debuts since 2000 includes some pretty rare company: Mike Trout (19 years-old), Bryce Harper (19 years-old), Felix Hernandez (19 years-old), Juan Soto (19 years-old) and Julio Urias (19 years-old). Will Salas be able to join this elite group?
Salas's scouting grades are as follows:
Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 45 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55
We’re predicting Salas’ 1st Bowman will be released in 2023 Bowman Chrome which won’t be out until later this year (no date set).
Bonus: The last five-tool catcher?
The last catcher that could have even been considered as a five-tool player was Craig Biggio, who came into the league as a catcher in 1988. However, he moved primarily to the outfield in 1989, after two years behind the plate. In 1992, he moved to 2B, where he would spend most of the remainder of his 20 season career.
Upcoming at Stealing Home
Understanding the Value of Grading Your Cards
Ever wonder what the likelihood of obtaining a BGS 10 v. PSA 10 is? And ever wonder what the expected value of your card is based on the likelihood of a grade and the corresponding value? Well, we at Stealing Home are working on that for you.
To get all the latest from Stealing Home, make sure you subscribe and follow us on Twitter & Instagram.
Trivia Answer of the Week
Which two pitchers have won three Cy Young Awards, thrown three no-hitters, and won two world series championships?
Sandy Koufax and Justin Verlander!
