With baseball being at the tail end of the ‘offseason’, it is time to take a look at the players we think you should snatch up during the next few weeks. It is no secret that the best time to buy is in the offseason…and BreakerCulture research has shown that mid-Jan to mid-Feb is a GREAT time to buy Baseball cards! I have 15 players for you to consider and have put them into three categories that we will roll out the next 3 weeks. Let’s dig into this!
The FIRST category is players that are well known but at a good price and have massive upside. The SECOND category is targeting those players in the early stages of their careers that have breakout potential. The THIRD & final category is dedicated to undervalued prospects. High priced players like Acuna, Soto, and Wander Franco you will not see here. I am focusing on players you can make gains on and hopefully……afford. 🙂
Before we dive into category #3…. be sure to check out the FIRST 5 Investment Ideas || RIGHT HERE | Popular Names with HUGE UPSIDE
and the SECOND 5 Investment Ideas || The Top POTENTIAL Break Outs!
CATEGORY #3 | ALL ABOUT PROSPECTING!
For the final segment of our Off-Season watch list, I am going to focus on prospects. With prospects, I will be using the base autograph and base 1st bowman chrome non-auto gem PSA 10 for price evaluation. Prospects are a lot of fun, there are always those prospects that work their way up unnoticed…and then those prospects that were overvalued and ultimately flop. There is a lot that goes into their success… such as; team fit, is he blocked?, talent, production, attitude, etc…. All of these play a part in picking who you should invest in.
In this article, I am going to stay closer to guys we can all afford. My top couple of guys will be on the edge of that price thresh-hold, but I will give you a couple of cheaper options towards the end. But before we dive in, I thought I would throw out a quick list of guys that I really like but just missed my Top 5.
- Gavin Lux SS Dodgers ($325 PSA 10 Auto) – BUY NOW – Yes I think it has room to grow.
- Alek Thomas OF AZ ($90 PSA 10 Auto) – BUY NOW –
- Nolan Jones OF CLE ($89 PSA 10 Auto)- BUY NOW
- Luis Garcia SS Washington Nationals ($89 PSA 10 Auto) – BUY NOW
- Terrin Vavra 2B/SS COL ($38 PSA 10 Auto) – BUY NOW
Keep an eye on these guys heading into the 2020 season. I expect we’ll see them pop up on some of BreakerCulture’s Premium Reports in the coming months!
Now onto my top 5. I feel that these are the prospects that you can afford now that are on the rise, let’s take a look!
#5 Geraldo Perdomo – SS – Arizona Diamondbacks – 20 yrs old
Perdomo is also in 2019 Bowman Chrome. This product really is a great value right now. It is the cheapest by far of the 3 products in 2019 and has a good number of really young high upside players in it. Perdomo is one of those guys. Marte and Martinez were the main SS chasers in the product, but Rocchio and Perdomo need to be watched as well. Perdomo just turned 20 and has already logged 3 productive years in the minors working up to A+. Perdomo could have a late development in power with his long 6’3 184lb build. He has plus speed and is and shows good plate discipline with a 13% walk rate last year in A+. Perdomo is also on the cheaper side of the list with no Base chrome non-autos to report. His base autograph PSA 10 selling for $60.
I put Rocchio ahead of Perdomo because of the age difference and price difference. I think they have a very similar upside but will take an extra year of development with Rocchio at the cheaper price.
Top 8 of his cards on eBay right now!
#4 Brayan Rocchio – SS – Cleveland Indians – 19 yrs old
Rocchio is another young high upside prospect for the Cleveland Indians. Rocchio just turned 19 years old and already has two productive years in the minors. He is 5’10 160 Lbs but has shown plus speed and developing power thus far. Rocchio came out of 2019 Bowman Chrome. I have seen him ranked in top 100 prospects lists already, and seen older players such as Seth Beer and Josh Jung ranked around him but commanding way more $ in the hobby.
Rocchio is more on the affordable side as he doesn’t have any base chromes non-autos to reference. His base auto PSA 10 is going for $40. Very affordable! He has a lot of upside, and in a good system. I really like the return you could get by investing in Rocchio especially at such a young age!
Top 8 of his cards on eBay right now!
#3 Nick Madrigal – 3B – Chicago White Sox – 22 yrs old
I am going to start with negatives first and try to bring you back. Madrigal is the oldest player on my list and he will be 23 to start the season, he has shown little power in his time through the minors, which isn’t surprising with his 5’7 165lb frame. Madrigal similar to Groshans comes out of the 2018 Bowman Draft Product. Excited yet? 😉
Now to why he is on my top 5, he has amazing contact numbers. He profiles as possibly an Altuve type player (without the pitch buzzer of course). His wRC+, wOBA, and OPB are all very impressive and top of the league. He projects to be a legitimate top of the order guy within an organization. I am excited that he has some big-time talent behind him as the White Sox have nice young bats in their system. He rarely walks or strikes out, so he puts the ball in play consistently.
In addition, he has the lowest K rate of any of the top 15 guys in my lists at a staggering 3.7% K rate. I don’t think he has a massive upside because of his lack of power but I do see a potential All-Star that can have a consistent career. Madrigal currently is commanding $18 for his base PSA 10 1st Bowman Chrome. His PSA 10 base autograph out of 18 Bowman Draft is going for $109. He is also close to the big leagues so he will get a call-up bump you can expect as well. I think both the base auto and base chrome will have increased value in 2020.
Top 8 of his cards on eBay right now!
#2 Jordan Groshans – SS – Toronto Blue Jays – 20 yrs old
Groshans is very similar to my #1 guy (see below) in the sense they both had pretty big names in their initial products. Groshans was overshadowed in the 2018 Bowman Draft by Kelenic and Gorman. Groshans faded over 2019 due to his injuries, but when he has played he has been very productive. He has shown top-level wRC+, wOBA, and hit for high average over .330 in his short samples around his injuries. We haven’t seen the power or speed yet, but with his 6’3 205lb frame, it is within reason to expect it will come. I really want to see a fully healthy season in 2020 for Groshans, if we do I expect big gains on his values in the hobby.
With Toronto having a very strong young infield with Bichette, Biggio, and Vlad expect Groshans to move to 3B. Interestingly that Groshans PSA 10 1st Bowman chrome is going for $21, which is more than my #1 guy but Groshans 1st Bowman PSA 10 Auto is going for $109 which is a bit less. That tells me you should be buying Groshans 1st Bowman auto at that price. As I mentioned in segment 2, I really like the Blue Jays long term and think their core could be a great investment group. Groshans will have a chance to be apart of a lethal line up when he is ready for the majors.
Top 8 of his cards on eBay right now!
#1 Ronny Mauricio – SS – New York Mets – 18 yrs old
Mauricio isn’t a secret out of this year’s 2019 Bowman, but he is in the same product as Wander Franco, Julio Rodiguez, Marco Luciano, and Joey Bart. I believe he has been overshadowed by these strong prospects ahead of him, but he has some extraordinary promise of his own. Mauricio is still only 18 years old and already a full season of A ball under his belt. He has a nice 6’3 frame in which hopefully he can fill out from his lean 166lbs currently. He has shown signs of power and speed. He is also the top prospect in the Mets system, which is also a market that will pay for their players in the hobby.
His numbers in A ball were underwhelming as a whole, but we was a young 18yr old for nearly the entire season and there is lots to like with his development. He also still is apart of many top 100 lists for prospects and has room to improve on his current value. If you want to go the more affordable route, you can snag Mauricio PSA 10 Base chrome 1st Bowmans for $15 per, which is very intriguing. His base 1st Bowman autograph PSA 10 goes for $135, in the world of 1st Bowman Gem autos that is also very affordable. With players like Mauricio, it’s simply buying into his development. I am excited to see what he looks like in 2020.
Top 8 of his cards on eBay right now!
We will be back in a few weeks with more MLB analysis. In the meantime, come find me in the Patreon Group (HERE) or the Free Discord Chat Group (HERE)!
Tyson
