Thrifty Thursday
Undervalued rookie and prospect cards
Finding great deals on Topps rookie cards and Bowman 1st prospect cards are two of my favorite things. My goal is to find players that are undervalued in 4 categories: Newer rookies (2023-2024), older rookies, prospects about to get called up, and prospects that are a few years away. This week I am looking at the Cleveland Guardians, one of the best teams in MLB with one of the best farm systems as well as two potential rookie of the year candidates. Without further ado, here are my finds for this week.
Prospect Card
Chase DeLauter, 22, OF at Triple-A for the Cleveland Guardians. He is currently ranked #2 in the Guardians organization and #42 overall on MLB Pipeline. His ticket to the big leagues is all about his power and athleticism. He hit well enough at Double-A to be recently called up a level. Give him some time to get his feet wet with some better pitching and if he adapts well the rest of the season, he will have a shot in spring training to make the big club or be one of the first call-ups.
His 2022 Bowman Chrome 1st refractors (BDC-49) can be found on eBay for around $8-$10, with increasing prices for parallel refractors.
Prospect Card
Jaison Chourio, 19, OF at Single-A for the Cleveland Guardians. He is the #70 prospect on MLB Pipeline and the #4 for the Guardians. With the same last name as his older brother Jackson, he carries many of the same traits and high ceiling, he just may need an extra year of two to get to the big leagues. Through 96 games in Single-A this year, he is batting a solid .273 with 5 HRs and 58 RBIs and more importantly his walks are high and strikeouts are not too high. He is a solid candidate to move up to High-A later this summer and Double-A is not out of the question next season.
His 2022 Bowman Chrome 1st refractors (BCP-174) can be found on eBay in the Shimmer Refractor parallel for around $10, while his Mojo Refractor is around $5.
Rookie Card
Colton Cowser, 24, OF for the Baltimore Orioles. Cowser has separated himself from the rest of the pack and is the odds-on favorite to win the AL ROY award. With his defensive prowess and his 18 HRs to go with a 2.5 WAR, his only real competition was his teammate Jordan Westburg, who is out of the rest of the season. Baltimore has done a great job developing young talent and Cowser is just one more on that list.
His 2024 Topps Series 1 gold parallel /2024 sells for around $20 on eBay while the gold foil version (non-numbered) goes for around $10.
Rookie Card
Jackson Merrill, 21, CF for the San Diego Padres. The odds makers may still favor Paul Skenes in the NL ROY race, but as a Pirates fan, Merrill has my vote at this time. The guy is a baller. In CF, he covers ground and can make any catch. At the plate, he is batting .291 with 18 HRs, 71 RBIs, and a 3.5 WAR. If he played in the AL, he would already have the award, but the NL is going to be interesting all the way to the end with Skenes, Merrill, Chourio, and Imanaga all having a legit shot at winning the award.
His 2024 Topps Chrome refractor #207 sells on eBay in the $10-$15 range but has been increasing in price recently with his and the Padres surge. You can also find X-fractors and Ray Wave cards around $20.
Best of luck to everyone finding the next steal of a deal for a top rookie or prospect card.
I think Jackson Merrill could be the gem of the current rookies. Cleary Elly is well just Elly but merrill has accomplished so much this season without as much fan fare imo as the other jacksons. I think this is a great choice! His rc seems to be little lower thank Holidays although ima fan of them both! Crushing it sir!
A Ray Wave RC of Merrill Topps Chrome -- now I gotta add that to my shopping list! Good stuff, my man!