Bowman

Chad Jenkins: Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

BDPP85, Chad Jenkins of the Toronto Blue Jays, Bowman Chrome Autograph

Buy or Sell: Probably Sitting on It

Projected Value: Medium-

As someone who attends most of the Blue Jays’ games, I didn’t mind this selection.  All things considered, this was probably a great pick for the Blue Jays.

Jenkins appears to have put it together through dedication and a bulldog mentality.  Jenkins is built like a horse, and was one of the better college pitchers entering the draft.

Jenkins isn’t a front-line starter, but he’s built to eat up innings with the best of ‘em.  Even if Jenkins performs to his ceiling — an innings eater that can dance around the corners with solid sinkin’ heat and throw a potentially plus slider — his value in Toronto isn’t all that great.

The Jays have had solid luck with their pitchers lately, but injuries have been a problem.  If Jenkins picks up the cutter, as just about every Jays’ pitcher has, his ceiling could get a nice little bump.

I don’t think you can get fair market value for this card if you’re selling it out of the gate.  I also won’t be rushing out to buy a tonne of low-numbered refractors.

Think about it, how well will a solid number 2 in Toronto appreciate anyways?

Jenkins is a potential trade-chip though as he advanced through the Minors.  Players with Jenkins build and stuff often find themselves as a very useful commodity.  If anyone in the Jays farm system would benefit from a sit down with Roy Halladay before he’s shipped off, it’s Jenkins.

Obviously, if Jenkins autographs dip to amongst the lowest in the class, I’ll be grabbing more than a couple.  He’s still a first rounder so I don’t exactly expect that to happen for at least a  month or two after the release date.

The Jays farm system isn’t pretty, so you may be able to make a quick buck when Jenkins makes the list.

Bowman

Tony Sanchez: 2009 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

BDPP76, Tony Sanchez of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bowman Chrome Autograph

Buy or Sell: Sell

Projected Value: Medium

Sanchez is an interesting prospect, but there are a couple of things working against the value of his cards in the long-term.

First off, Sanchez looks to be staying put in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.  New Pirates General Manager, Neal Huntington, seems to be on the right track to building a mid-market franchise with budget constraints.  Huntington probably won’t be around to see the majority of his maneuvers come to fruition, but the groundwork has been laid.

The move to draft Sanchez with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft was a bit questionable, but you have to admire a GM that puts his faith into the hands of the Scouting Director and takes a leap of faith.

Unfortunately, Sanchez’s early draft slot and high signing bonus will lead to an early overvaluation of his cards.

Sanchez has all of the tools to be an above average catcher in the big leagues, but his name shouldn’t be amongst the highlights of any checklist.  He had a terrific seasons in Low-A, where he showcased his potential.

Sanchez could make a claim for a promotion to Double-A early in the season.  He’s not afraid to take a walk, a skill that’s translated well from BC, and the power’s starting to come around.

You’re going to have issues making money of Sanchez, though.  People like to overpay for early first rounders and even if Sanchez hits the show before 2012, his cards will have a hard time standing up to fourth-overall selection prices.

Bowman

2009 Bowman Draft Picks Football Review

I’ve been battling computer problems and stomach ailments, but I managed to run out and grab a box of 2009 Bowman Draft Picks Football with the 49ers Michael Crabtree (wearing his TTU uni) on the box.  Rather than grabbing a jumbo box which includes two patches and one auto, I settled for a Hobby Box. Hobby Boxes of Bowman Prospects Football contain 24 packs at 10 cards per pack, and one patch auto rather than two.  Jumbo Boxes on the other hand will net you 12 packs of 32 cards.

Prior to tearing this product a new asshole, I’ll present it’s single redeeming feature: The Checklist contains a good amount of solid autos and patch autos.  A few of the autos that caught my eye were:

Matthew Stafford, Brian Orakpo, Michael Crabtree, Knowshon Moreno, Aaron Curry, James Laurinaitis, Chris Wells, Rey Maulaluga, Michael Johnson, Brian Cushing, Brandon Pettigrew, Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman, Percy Harvin, Rashad Jennings, Darrius Heyward Bey, Pat White, LeSean McCoy, James Davis, Juaquin Iglesias, Kenny Britt, Mark Sanchez, Hakeem Nicks.

Basically, Topps managed to get every respectable draftee to sign for their set.  The Base Autos are thankfully ON CARD, but the patch autos are either on patch or on a sticker like the Coffee to the left that I pulled.

Now onto the awful, the real awful.  First off, the college patches look like garbage compared to the images beckett posted a few weeks ago.  The cards as a whole just look really cheap.  The patch is simply glued onto the card and while the stream-lined design looks good from a far, viewing them up close will reveal umpteen million flaws.

Here are the scans of all of the base cards and inserts that I pulled.

Design and Such:

First off, the cards are made of incredibly cheap card stock.  They just feel flimsy to the touch, and definitely do not match the autograph list that Topps managed to procure.  The cards themselves actually have a pretty solid design, and I’m quite a fan of the basecards for both rookies and veterans.  The NFL’s Rookie Card logo is absolutely painful to look at, and the autograph cards continue in Bowman’s tradition of having that stupid white box.

As you can probably tell, I was less than pleased with this pull: James Casey from RICE!

How To Ruin A Product…

I literally cannot stand when a company like Topps asks you to fork over 80 dollars for a box, and literally fills it with shit.  No less than half of the veteran cards were both printed and cut incorrectly.  The black background for the word ‘Bowman’ and the foil highlights, were sometimes almost a full inch off.  Much like Upper Deck First Edition Baseball, cards were missing names alltogether.

Is there any excuse for this?

Once again, about three-quarters of the Veteran cards ended up following this little ‘woopsie.’

As you can see with Matt Ryan, the printing and cutting process wasn’t just a little bit off but rather a “fuck you and thanks for your cash money, hopefully you enjoy the James Casey Auto” -type off.

Bowman and Topps did manage to do some half decent Photoshopping putting Terrell Owens in a Bills unfirom, Fred Taylor in a Pats uni, Matt Cassell in a Chiefs uni, and Coles as a Bengal.  Jay Cutler is unfortunately still a Bronco, however.

The photos aren’t great, and it’s pretty clear that they’re photoshopped but they’re neat enough for such an early product.

Final Review:

All and all, the hits are pretty decent and all of the big names have ink in this product but I really can’t get over just how cheap these cards look and feel.  There’s nothing overly ugly about any of the cards, they just look so damn cheap.  If you’re just going to throw the base into the garbage, then I guess this is a decent product.

The Patches and Autos are selling like Hot-Cakes on eBay, going for as high as 500 bucks.  If you’re the kind of guy that likes Patch-Autos and On-Card Autos, maybe this is a nice start to the football season.