Game 9: Fathers Day, Ohtani things, Trout sales disappoints, Jace Jung, Corbin Carroll, Anthony Volpe
Game 9: Fathers Day, Ohtani things, Trout sales disappoints, Jace Jung, Corbin Carroll, Anthony Volpe
Weekly Roundup 6/12/23-6/18/23
The Roundup
Happy Fathers Day! Shout out to our dad’s Bobby & Gary! Thank you for everything, including the immense gift of the love of baseball.
Shohei Ohtani continues to do things that are out of this world… Leading the MLB with 24 home runs, Ohtani has a 15-game hit streak, has hit eight home runs in 12 games, and is 6-2 as a pitcher with a 3.29 ERA. If I went over all his ridiculous stats, we’d be here for days.
Trivia Question of the Week
How many times in MLB history have there been a Grandfather-Father-Son trio all to have played in the majors?
Bonus: Can you name names!?
Sales: 2009 Mike Trout 1st Bowman Red Auto PSA 10
A few weeks ago, we noted that a 2009 Mike Trout 1st Bowman Red Auto PSA 10 was up for auction on Goldin. In October of last year, another Trout Red 1st Bowman auto sold for $1,080,000. That card was a BGS 9.5. Given the perfect PSA grade, we (Eli) predicted the card could tease the $2 million mark. Wow, was I wrong… So so wrong.
The PSA 10 sold this week for a “measly” $510,000. Certainly the market is not as hot as it was during the last few years, but I think the drop is more likely due to the year Trout is having.
Trout’s career slash line is .301/.412/.993. This year, he’s hitting .255/.363/.830. This just goes to show that cards of even a surefire first ballot Hall-of-Famer (who is the 27th greatest baseball player of all time, according to the Athletic, and the only active player in the top 74; number 75 is Verlander) are vulnerable to the player’s cold streak. Considering he’s only 32, it may be a good time to buy…
Full disclosure, I bought this Gem Mint recently:
New Releases
The 2023 Topps Tribute set will be released on June 23rd, 2023, and is available for pre-order already. One of the coolest cards in the set has to be the Ohtani double auto card featuring signatures in both English and Kanji in recognition of his incredible accomplishments, both at the plate and at the mound. We can’t wait to see this one…
Trending Up, Trending Down
Elly De La Cruz [67.85%] and Jarred Kelenic [-22.05%] held pole position this week in trending up / down. Elly and Jarred continued to do eye-popping and tear-inducing things this week, respectively. Elly out-hustled a hard-hit ball to the 1st baseman, diving head first for the single. His slash line, however, has come back down to earth: .208/.321/.250. Kelenic feels quite far from his early season tear, batting .171 in June so far.
Trending Up: Corbin Carroll [+41.74%]
Corbin Carroll has translated a scorching June – where he’s bat .307 with 6 HR, 5 doubles, and 2 triples in fifteen games – into a 41.74% increase in his card values over the last 30 days. With only 100 total MLB games under his belt, Carroll is starting to be mentioned in the NL MVP conversation. As of now, Carroll has the 4th best MVP odds on the betting sites behind Ronlad Acuña Jr, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts. Not bad for a rookie.
Trending down: Anthony Volpe [–18.33%]
Anthony Volpe, at 22 years old, was rated as the #9 Yankees prospect coming into this year according to MLB.com. Volpe has not been able to find his groove after making his MLB debut on opening day this year. His batting average has been hovering around .200 since the season started with April (.217) having been his best hitting month so far. As a result, Volpe’s card values have dropped 18.33% over the past 30 days.
7th Inning Stretch
We’re trying out a new section for Stealing Home called 7th Inning Stretch. It’s meant to be a break in the blog in which we share fun stories, quirky collectables, and whimsical updates. If you have any whacky contributions that you think the Stealing Home community would enjoy, don’t hesitate to send them our way!
In honor of Fathers Day: here are The Greatest Father-Son Duos in MLB History.
Grading Specials:
SGC has a special, grading any Topps Series 2 cards for $9 per card!
Prospect of the Week: Jace Jung
2B, Detroit Tigers
Fun fact: The most well represented state in the Stealing Home community is the great state of pure Michigan! As a thank you, this week’s featured prospect is Tigers 2B, Jace Jung.
Jace Jung was drafted 12th overall in the 2022 MLB draft after a dominant college career at Texas Tech where he won Big 12 Player of the Year, two years after his brother Josh (Texas Rangers) won it. Jace is still finding his footing in his first year at the High A level, batting a respectable, but not eye-popping, .254 in 2023. Jace is known for his strong discipline at the plate and unorthodox batting stance, which features a bat hold that angles straight back. In 2022, Jung had 18.7% walk rate and 20.9% strikeout rate – both very strong numbers.
A 2022 Jace Jung 1st Bowman Auto PSA 10 sold last week for $63. Another is up for auction, ending in 3 days, at $41 as of this writing.
Scouting grades:
Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55
Trivia Answer of the Week
Four times in MLB history, there has been a Grandfather-Father-Son combo who have all played in the Majors.
Could you name any of the 4?
