Jac Caglianone: Ripped Off?

     I've seen this conversation before. The best example that I can think of is Jackson Holliday; a player rakes in Spring Training (in Holliday's case, batting .311 with 3 doubles, 2 triples and 2 homers in 15 spring games in 2024) and then getting left off the Opening Day roster for more development.

    The annoying thing about Holliday is that he was the top prospect going in to 2024 -- and in the minor league season of 2023 he batted .323/.442/.499 with 113 runs, 30 doubles, and 24 swiped bags in 125 games. 

    Holliday was evidently not ready for the majors -- in 60 MLB games in 2024 he batted just .190 with a .565 OPS. Though I am of complete confidence that Holliday will be fine and even a star of the game in the near future, his case represents why a team would keep a player down even if he hits well in spring.

    

    Jac Caglianone's case is a little bit different. He was drafted in the first round of the 2024 draft by the Kansas City Royals. The highest level he ever played was High-A ball, where he slashed .236/.302/.388.

    However, in 2025's Spring Training, Caglianone is batting .500/.609/1.167 with 3 homers in 14 games. This is nothing shy of amazing. Take a look at this beautiful third home run of Caglianone's spring:

    Even though Caglianone has put up other-worldly numbers in Spring Training, the Royals have announced that they will not be putting the first-baseman on the Opening Day roster or 2025. Granted, Kansas City has Vinnie Pasquantino at first base already, and though one of them could DH, the Royals have players who can hit to go in the DH role (e.g. Freddy Furmin and Salvador Perez, the duo of catchers). 

    I'm all for letting young guys with incredible talent get a crack at the majors, but with such a small sample size, perhaps his staying down is for the better. We'll just need to see.

    How do y'all feel about this, if you have an opinion? Is Caglianone getting ripped off, or is this a smart move by the Royals? Please let me know in the comments.

    Unfortunately, I don't have any of Jac Caglianone's baseball cards, so I've got nothing to show off. Nonetheless, I promise I'll have plenty of cards for the next post. Meanwhile, thank you for reading Don Cardwell, have a great weekend, and happy collecting! 

Cards From Cards on Cards (Say that 5 Times Fast)

    About two weeks ago I got my first packs of 2025 Topps Series 1. My friend Kerry from over at Cards on Cards sent them, as a prize from his annual College Bowl Pick 'Em. I was surprised that I won it, but my mother is big into college football, so I guess it was an advantage.

    Anyway, besides the Topps blaster box, Kerry also sent me a bunch of cards from teams I like, as well as some PC help.

    I think I'll note every card in the blaster box, with images of the better/special ones. It's probably more boring that way, but I would like to keep an inventory of these cards since I am currently waiting on the binder for them to come. This is also my first in-hand taste of 2025 Topps, so I'll be providing my commentary on that too. I opened and posted on each pack individually, writing about them as I went along.

Pack 1:

First card of 2025: #205 Rhett Lowder RC

    The card backs look familiar to me, though I am unsure why. It resonates with the front of the card pretty well. And at least you can read what it says.

-#276 Jarred Kelenic
-#165 Joey Ortiz
-#33 Jose Berrios

-#131 David Peterson 

    This is a good photo to be shown horizontally. There have been some questionable image proportions in the past, but for the most part they've done pretty well (at least to what I've seen).

-#202 Keibert Ruiz

-#255 Dodgers Swagger 

    Unsure why the border is black for this card. And, we've reached out first little problem. Under the Dodgers Swagger text there are some more words, which are difficult to read. It's not so hard in hand, but on the computer, good luck.

-#66 Logan Gilbert
-#350 Francisco Lindor
-#287 DJ Herz RC

-#179 Ryan Pepiot Silver Crackle Foil

    This is a beautiful card. While looking up just what kind of card this is, I was brought to realization that there are so many foil variations that have similar characteristics. I already knew this to a degree, but when it's brought to light, it can be a real pain when it comes to card identification. 
    It's also a little bit difficult to see Pepiot's last name, but it is not so at all on the card. I guess these just don't show up to well on camera.

-#SMLB-21 Rafael Devers

    The more I see it, the more I'm liking this year's Stars of MLB design. 

    That was a very good first pack by my standards. No Rangers yet, but I'm sure things'll look up soon.

Pack 2:

-#260 Jose Altuve Spring Training Parallel

    I'm not entirely sure how I feel on the prospect of these Spring Training parallels. Though I think Topps makes too many parallels, I do like the look of these ones more than others.

-#96 Seattle Mariners
-#46 Tanner Houck
-#149 Jeff McNeil
-#254 Kyle Finnegan
-#95 Gavin Sheets
-#292 Clay Holmes
-#204 Justin Wrobleski RC
-#307 Jeremy Pena
-#138 Isaac Paredes

-#35 Anthony Volpe

    Nice picture for this card. Another great horizontal shot.

-#FP-8 First Pitch Adrian Beltre

    I'd never thought I'd see the day where Adrian Beltre's official position is pitcher. Does this count as my first Ranger? Either way, I really like this insert. I hope he threw a strike.

-#SMLB-19 Brooks Lee

    I think the days of SLMB are over. I wouldn't call Brooks Lee a star. Not yet, at least. I think he's got the potential to be a sneaky good player in 2025, but it's still a little bit early to call him a star of MLB.

    My favorite card of the second bunch has to be Beltre throwing out the first pitch.

Pack 3:

-#184 Bronx Bombers 
-#190 Miguel Vargas
-#7 Alec Bohm
-#320 Drew Thorpe
-#181 James Wood
-#102 Jonathan India
-#327 Bryan Woo
-#94 Nick Sogard
-#290 Pete Crow-Armstrong
-#312 Dub and Drench

-#302 Los Angeles Dodgers Gold (1677/2025)

    This is the only serial-numbered card in the bunch. The gold parallel definitely looks interesting on the new design, and the little positional dot just says 'Team Card' on it.

-#SMLB-5 Julio Rodriguez

    Another Stars of MLB card. There's a little bit too much space left in the card. Surely they could have found a better action shot?

    The third pack wasn't as impressive as the first two, but it did yield a serial-numbered card, which was pretty cool.

Pack 4:

-#111 Randy Arozarena Spring Training Parallel

    We've already had a Grapefruit League parallel, and now we have the Cactus League one. The more I look at these, the more I like this insert.

-#227 Ty France
-#113 Marco Gonzales
-#36 Greg Jones RC
-#42 Andrew McCutchen
-#269 Justyn-Henry Malloy
-#164 Tanner Bibee
-#52 Will Benson

-#250 Bryce Harper

    Bryce is a favorite. He's a must have in this post.



-#37 Spencer Steer
-#233 Brandon Marsh

-#T90-78 Manny Machado 

    The 1990 reprint looks really good. It far exceeded my expectations for this year.

-#SMLB-12 Gunnar Henderson

    Very nice card of a player I love. I wonder if he'll get a crack at an MVP award sometime in the near future. He's got the talent, but also a very competitive league featuring Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt as frontrunners. Only time can tell.

    This was a good pack, as shown by the four cards who were worthy to be shown on the blog. 

Pack 5:

-#139 Jordan Beck

-#125 Jackson Merrill

    I don't know if I've ever been more ecstatic about pulling a base card. The photo used is perfect; in fact, I think I've used the very same photo before, both in a post and as my email address's profile picture. The color scheme on the Padres card is a little bit strange, but I guess brown is their main color. Haha, I'm one of the weirdos who actually likes the City Connect uni.

-#341 Ronel Blanco
-#83 Anthony Rendon
-#284 Oneil Cruz
-#253 Hurston Waldrep RC
-#256 Jake Cave
-#309 Adam Mazur RC
-#230 Colton Cowser
-#27 Angel Martinez RC

-#62 Jon Gray 

    And now, we have the first Ranger of 2025! It took a minute, but Jon Gray finally showed his face and gets the bragging rights.....although I doubt that anybody cares :)

-#SMBL-24 Christian Yelich

    I sure hope Yelich can stay healthy for 2025. He's been getting back to his true form, and I want to see another great season out of him. He's in his age 33 season -- plenty of time to show us how it's done, but not enough time for injuries.



    Yet another solid pack. And we're on to the last two. This post took forever to make, I'm sure that for those reading the whole thing, it's taking an eternity to read.





Pack 6:

-#68 Hunter Feducca RC Spring Training Parallel

    We have our third Spring Training parallel. These are really nice. It's something different from colored borders -- which I have nothing against. It's very unique. I've probably said that three times now.

-#338 Mitch Garver
-#84 Kameron Misner RC
-#238 JJ Bleday
-#172 Otto Lopez
-#195 Michael King
-#336 Jorge Alcala
-#122 CJ Abrams
-#170 Baltimore Orioles
-#328 Eugenio Suarez

-#GH-5 Nolan Arenado

    This is a nice card, though I think the back can explain it better than I can...

-#ATT-1 Aaron Judge

    I really like the look of this card. There's plenty going on without an excess of things going on. I sympathize with those set collectors who can't stand all the inserts. There are a lot of them. But as a person who doesn't really build sets, it doesn't bug me too much.

-#SMLB-30 Dylan Crews

    Gee, I really hope this one comes true.

    Another very good pack.

Pack 7:

-#50 Leody Taveras
-#76 Houston Astros
-#316 Chris Sale
-#75 Colin Rea
-#18 Orelvis Martinez RC
-#180 Colt Keith

-#221 Matt Chapman

    Matt Chapman was such a good pickup by the Giants (my second team). I didn't realize just how good it was until 2024, when he was quietly such an awesome piece at third base. I think he's really one of the better and underrated players in the game.

-#5 2024 American League ERA Leaders

    Here's to hoping Skubal repeats.
    I like what they did with the player ERAs coming up the side of the card. Well done.

-#304 Raisel Iglesias
-#239 Freddie Freeman
-#179 Ryan Pepiot

-#SMLB-15 Corbin Carroll

    I'm not really a D-Backs fan, but as one who hates to see talent squandered, I want a 2023 Corbin Carroll, one such Corbin Carroll as we saw at the end of last season.

    All seven of my packs ended with a Stars of MLB insert. Is that the way each pack of '25 Topps has been rounded out, or is it just some crazy coincidence? These are the only cards I've gotten thus far, so I wouldn't know.

    So rounds out the 2025 Topps Blaster box. Overall I'm very happy with it (aside from the fact that it was free), with literally zero dupes; a great start if I were trying to build the set. I may end up building the Stars of MLB set.

    Overall, the 2025 design is....decent. There are some really nice aspects, and some not so much. The base cards have a bit of a shine to them, which is alright with me. The darker text on the cards isn't much of a problem in-hand, but  once photographed (or scanned, I've seen), it gets a bit illegible and looks a bit strange. I think the design would look a whole lot better to me had it not been the immediate successor to 2024 Topps, which was a grand slam design. Overall, I would probably give it a 7 out of 10. I think that's a fair rating.

    Kerry sent me a good number of more cards individually, but this post has already been far and away my longest ever, and I've got a few more longies to go in the near future. So I'll wrap it up here, and save the rest of the cards for part two. Thank you Kerry for the amazing cards, and thank y'all for bearing with me to the end -- this took over a week to write -- and happy collecting! 

More Draft Results!

     My second league's draft was yesterday. This league has eight teams and 24 roster spots. I got the sixth pick out of eight -- in hindsight this was a good thing since it's a first-year league that I started. My pitching staff was not what I wanted in the last draft, so I was hoping to fill out an even team this time around (another holds league). Let's see how I did.

First Round (6th overall): Juan Soto (OF, NYM)
    Juan Soto helps with a ton of different categories. I was eyeing him immediately upon getting the sixth overall pick.

Second Round (11th overall): Tarik Skubal (SP, DET)
    I wanted Skubal so badly. I had already abandoned the idea of waiting until later to grab starters, so I jumped at the opportunity to draft who I think is the best in the league. 

Third Round (22nd overall): Freddie Freeman (1B, LAD)
    With Vladdy and Harper gone, Freddie seemed the next best option. I hope he bounces back from last year, which had its excuses (his son was paralyzed due to illness; prayers go out to them).

Fourth Round (27th overall): Austin Riley (3B, ATL)
    I chose Riley over Devers, ha! I think Riley's an amazing option at third, and a steal for the fourth round.

Fifth Round (38th overall): Corey Seager (SS, TEX)
    My first Ranger of the draft! I was also surprised to see him left, but I guess too few remember his epic 2023 season.

Sixth Round (43rd overall): Dylan Cease (SP, SD)
    Another starter for the team. Cease is kind of inconsistent, but he throws really hard and is coming off a really nice 2024 season. I think he'll be fine.

Seventh Round (54th overall): Teoscar Hernandez (OF, LAD)
    He's not the most consistent outfielder in the world, but I wanted another outfielder, and he was ranked at the top, so I grabbed him. Good move?

Eighth Round (59th overall): Ryan Helsley (RP, STL)
    The closers were starting to move, so I had to jump on the bandwagon. Helsley was so good last year, hopefully he can have another outstanding campaign.

Ninth Round (70th overall): James Wood (OF, WSH)
    He was amazing in AAA (.353/.463/.595 slash), showed talent in the majors, and has amazing hair. There is no reason not to believe he'll be a beast.

Tenth Round (75th overall): Felix Bautista (RP, BAL)
    Coming off of an injury, I suppose it could be a bit risky. But Bautista was so good when he played last, and the closers were moving, so I'm confident this was a good pickup. 

Eleventh Round (86th overall): Lawrence Butler (OF, ATH)
    I really like Lawrence Butler. I hope he does well this year, because as of right now he's my utility guy.

Twelfth Round (91st overall): Yainer Diaz (C, 1B, HOU)
    Adley was grabbed a few rounds before, literally by the guy right ahead of me when I was going to get him. I'll settle for Diaz. He's pretty good.

Thirteenth Round (102nd overall): Roki Sasaki (SP, LAD)
    Well if I can't have Yamamoto I'm gonna have Sasaki. Hoping he can ramp that velo back up.

Fourteenth Round (107th overall): Spencer Strider (SP, ATL)
    He's going to be out a month, but he's such a dominant force when he's on the mound. I hope he can find his true form once again in 2025.

Fifteenth Round (118th overall): Jared Jones (SP, PIT)
    By this time I was yanking starting pitching. And I like Jared Jones. So you put two and two together, and yeah, he's on my team.

Sixteenth Round (123rd overall): Nico Hoerner (2B, SS, (CHC)
    Nico's always my sneaky pick. I love neglecting that second base spot just to drop a consistent guy like Nico down there who'll play the whole season and get you 30+ steals. I know he'll miss the Tokyo series, but he should be good to go for the regular Opening Day. I can live with that.

Seventeenth Round (134th overall): Kevin Gausman (SP, TOR)
    I'm just about ready to wrap up on starting pitching. I think Gausman will be good.

Eighteenth Round (139th overall): Matt Chapman (3B, SF)
    As of right now he's on the bench, but I believe that he'll be a very valuable addition to this team to pop into UTIL when I need a quick offensive stat.

Nineteenth Round (150th overall): Dylan Crews (OF, WSH)
    I really wanted a few more steals, and I let the projections get the best of me a little bit. At least he's hitting well in spring.

Twentieth Round (155th overall): Pete Fairbanks (RP, TB)
    You can never have too many closers -- even when they get injured every year.

Twenty-First Round (166th overall): Zach Eflin (SP, BAL)
    I didn't realize he was starter #7 for me. No matter, he's still a good pitcher.

Twenty-Second Round (171st overall): Justin Martinez (RP, ARI)
    I really like Justin Martinez. I can sneak a closer in the later rounds, which comes in mighty handy.

Twenty-Third Round (176th overall): Bryan Abreu (RP, HOU)
    He led the league in holds last year (38). In a holds league, it comes in pretty handy, even if he did plunk Adolis Garcia.

Twenty-Fourth Round (187th overall): Tyler Rogers (RP, SF)
    I love Tyler Rogers. He has that wacky arm slot which nobody can hit, and gets a lot of saves.

    So concludes my second and final draft of the 2025 season. Like I said, there are only 8 teams in the league, so they're all pretty stacked. This is the starting lineup for my team, British Dudez Next Door. (I am slightly English by the way)

C: Yainer Diaz
1B: Freddie Freeman
2B: Nico Hoerner
3B: Austin Riley
SS: Corey Seager
OF: Juan Soto
OF: Teoscar Hernandez
OF: James Woos
UTIL: Lawrence Butler
BN: Matt Chapman
BN: Dylan Crews

What I Like: This team has a ton of power, as well as the ability to run, which is something I usually neglect.

What I Don't Like: A few of these guys are a bit unproven. Butler has new-found success that may not carry over, and Dylan Crews has minimal MLB time in which he wasn't amazing.

    Onto the pitching staff:

SP: Tarik Skubal
SP: Dylan Cease
SP: Roki Sasaki
SP: Spencer Strider
SP: Jared Jones
SP: Kevin Gausman 
SP: Zach Eflin
RP: Ryan Helsley
RP: Felix Bautista
RP: Pete Fairbanks
RP: Justin Martinez
RP: Bryan Abreu
RP: Tyler Rogers

What I like: The starting staff is really good, and I think the amount of closers I have is just right.

What I Don't Like: Uhhhhh.....maybe one too many starters? Eflin makes a good seven, but I could have added another hitter.

Overall:

Offense: A
    I really like the lineup and don't think there's a ton to improve upon, other than maybe some more multi-positional players.

Pitching: A+
    I may be a little bit generous, but I think I aced the pitching staff on this one.

Overall: A
    There may be some small moves I should have made to push this up to A+, but I think this was a really nice draft.

    And there you have it. All the teams are pretty good (since it's a small league), but I think my team is looking great, and like it a lot more than my other team (which I don't hate, don't get me wrong). 

    Thanks for reading this rather long recap. Don't worry; I've got plenty of baseball cards to show off in my next few posts. Thanks for stopping by, have a great start to the week, and happy collecting!

Season Predictions

     At long last, Opening Day is in three days. Well, I guess it isn't technically Opening Day, but the baseball season will get underway with the Tokyo Series. I've always found it weird that they have their international series so early and then have the teams who played in that series participate in more Spring Training before the season starts for everybody. 

    Anyway, it's the time of year when I make my predictions for the oncoming MLB season. Of course, once I publicize them I'll be utterly and completely wrong, but it's fun to do it anyway. 

    I put a form up on the blog a little while ago, and between that and emailing it to some friends, I got 29 responses (way more than I expected), and I will integrate these into my predictions. Before we begin, I would like to say that sometimes my predictions seem a little bit odd, but sometimes the odd prediction feels right. Now that that's out of the way, why don't we start with division winners?

AL West: Houston Astros (31% consensus, tied first with the Rangers)
    It pains me a lot to say it, but I think the Astros are going to come away with the division again. The AL West isn't a particularly good division, but the Astros still seem in control. I would love to see the Rangers win it -- they have made many more strides to improve their team than the Astros -- but they're probably underdogs in the division. The more I think about it, the more I think the Rangers are going to take the division. I was really close to changing the guess, but I'm sticking with it, even though both my gut and my heart disagree with me.

AL Central: Detroit Tigers (55.2% consensus, first place)
    I do really like to say this one. I have been following and rooting for the Tigers for a little bit and was stoked to see their magical run in 2024. And they've gotten better this year, with signings like Jack Flaherty (really burned the Dodgers on that trade), Gleyber Torres, and Tommy Kahnle. Man, this team is going places.

AL East: New York Yankees (72.4% consensus, first place)
    They lost Juan Soto. They just acquired Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt, as well as a few others. I really hope Goldschmidt can rebound and end his career on a high note. I'm not particularly liking the AL East opponent's chances to take the division, but I can see the Orioles or Red Sox possibly taking it.

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (93.1% consensus, first place)
    Well duh. The D-Backs will probably be decent, and the Giants could possibly be decent. The Padres will likely be good, but the Dodgers are ridiculously good. They've had one of the greatest off-seasons in baseball history. None of the other teams in the division stand a ghost of a chance against them. I don't want to be too much of a hater. I mean, they're the ones willing to spend the money, and few other teams are. It's just annoying to see all these epic off-season additions when you're not a fan. 

NL Central: Chicago Cubs (24.1% consensus, second place)
    I've been rooting for the Cubs for so long, and it looks like they may have their chance this year. The Brewers, who have been in control of the division for the last few years, have lost some valuable pieces, most notably Willy Adames. Yet the consensus was still in their favor, with 41.4% of answers predicting them to hold the division. We'll see. 

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies (24.1% consensus, third place)
    This was a hard one because of the three headliners of the division: Phillies, Braves, and Mets, who have all gotten better in the off-season. The Mets did sign Juan Soto, but the starting pitching still isn't there for me, and the Phillies line-up is still stacked. It also helps that they have Jesus Luzardo now. The Braves took about 48% of the consensus, and the Mets about 28%. This surprised me a little bit.

    Now I will move on to the second portion of my predictions for the year, which is the awards earned after the season.

 AL Rookie of the Year: Roman Anthony OF, BOS (20.7% consensus, second place)
    I don't know as much about the rookies as I would like, but Anthony is ranked #2 on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list. Looking at his minor league stats, Anthony looks like the real deal. He was a career minor league slash of .284/.398/.474 and is coming off a really nice year in 2024. He's giving a strong showing in spring as well, as he hunts for that Opening Day roster spot. The highest percentage of votes went to the 'Unsure' option at over 50%.

NL Rookie of the Year: Dylan Crews OF, WSH (20.7% consensus, third place)
    It would make all logical sense for me to predict Roki Sasaki, and it's probably the correct decision (second-most voted behind 'Unsure'), but when I thought about it, I couldn't not go with Crews. I just have a feeling about him. Though his 2024 debut wasn't too shiny, he did have his bright spots, and is currently slashing .357/.455/.429 in spring. He's going places. 

AL Cy Young Award: Tarik Skubal, DET (not on form)
    For some reason I left Cy Young and MVP off the poll.
    Tarik Skubal was nuts last season. He won the triple crown, and doesn't seem ready to stop yet, as he'll try to lead the Tigers on another playoff run. What some people don't understand is that he's a completely new pitcher since his time from 2021-2023. The mechanics have been improved as well as a new pitch mix (new as of 2023) that allows him to dominate. He's got the heart and the talent to pull off another incredible season.

NL Cy Young Award: Paul Skenes, PIT (not on form)
    Paul Skenes had a 1.96 ERA in 2024. I don't expect numbers quite that insane to repeat, but I still see Skenes as a dominant force on the mound. He's added a cutter and two-seam to his already impressive arsenal this off-season - it'll be fun to see how those pitches work against MLB hitters.

AL MVP: Bobby Witt Jr. SS, 3B, KC (not on form)
    I was one of those weird people who thought Witt should have won the MVP over Aaron Judge. Bobby Witt is just so talented at everything he does at a difficult position (shortstop). It's either going to be Witt or Judge. And I'm guessing Witt.

NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani DH, P, LAD (not on form)
    He hits, and now he pitches again. Need I say more? The only thing not going for him is that he won last year and maybe the voters won't want a repeat? Probably not. Shohei's the man.

    And finally, I saved this one for last: World Series prediction. It's always fun (yet unpredictable) to predict a World Series in advance. Took a quick look on Sportsbook to see what the projections were.

World Series Matchup: Dodgers vs. Tigers (7% consensus)
    The surprising bit here is obviously the Tigers. But personally, I love what they have done to their team this off-season, and think they have a really solid squad that can take them to the Fall Classic. I don't know what I was thinking when I made these predictions before, but this one just felt right. Now, if I had to guess who won, I'd say Dodgers in six games.

    Well, those are my predictions for the upcoming season. Let me know in the comments what you think of my predictions and what y'all predict to happen. Good luck to your teams, thank you for reading, and happy collecting!

Serial Card Countdown -- The Grand Finale

    A huge thanks to The Diamond King for 100 serial-numbered cards. This post marks the last one in my countdown. I've moved on to my top five cards, and without further delay, here they are:

#5: 2019 Leaf Valiant Green Prismatic JJ Bleday Autograph (98/99)

    I like just about every aspect of this card. I think the design and background are spot-on (of course the color scheme works for me, because he's on the A's). I do like on-card autos, and this one looks very nice. A solid card at #5.

#4: 2019 Panini Crusade Pink Cody Bellinger (11/25)

    Panini Crusade is far and away my favorite Panini baseball card design. The designs are pristine, and the crests Panini uses for the cards are amazing. I wonder how Bellinger will fare in 2025 with the Yankees. He looks ready to have another solid season; it would be insanity to see him struggle like in 2021.

#3: 2017 Panini National Sports Collectors Convention Wrapper Redemption Memorabilia Rainbow Spokes Mookie Betts (22/25)

    Well that was quite the mouthful. Thanks to TCDB user jamestagli for clarifying just what type of card this is. It's a really nice card (it looks like Mookie is exploding); it's shiny, and has that lovely  (though a little bit plain) jersey swatch on it. I'm sure Mookie's headed for the Hall, the question is how much longer he can go. He hasn't shown too many signs of slowing down. other than getting hit by pitches and breaking wrists.

#2: 2018 Panini Immaculate Collection Rookie Auto Dual Materials Tyler Wade (09/99)

    This is a very intriguing card. The double patches plus the autograph are pretty cool, even though there's a ton going on in the card. I still think they did a good job with the card's photo -- Wade looks so young! I've always liked seeing player-used memorabilia cards, so the two and the autograph is really nice. Wade has been getting plenty of ABs in spring with the Padres. Maybe he'll play a lot?

    Now, we have really been through 99 cards, from the process of choosing the top 20 and then counting down all the way through card #2. The card about to be shown won the honors of the best card in the box. And that card is...

#1: 2023 Topps Pristine Gold Refractor Zach Plesac (35/50)

    This card was actually sitting on top of the box when I opened it and was therefore the first card I saw in the entire package. It's a real eye-catcher. The design is really good (the card is way nicer in hand than on the blog). Plesac has been in the majors since 2019, and in 87 career big-league games (86 starts), is 27-28 with a 4.31 ERA. Plesac lands #1 on my countdown. 

    So ends the serial card countdown. This was a fun little series that of course could not have been done without The Diamond King. Thank you for your generosity.

    Thank you all for reading the blog, have a great week, and happy collecting! Opening day's right around the corner, so good luck to your teams :)

Draft Results!

     Ah, it is that time of the year again when fantasy baseball starts up and drafts occur. With the MLB season just around the corner, I had one of my two fantasy drafts yesterday.

    My team, Super Hot Spicy Squid was generously gifted with my least-favorite snake draft position, which is ninth. For reference, this was a twelve-man private prize league set up with some friends, with an entrance fee of $5 per man. There were 24 rounds in the online draft. Let's take an in-depth look at how I did:

First Round: Vladimir Guerrero Jr, 1B, 3B (9th overall)
    I wanted a good first baseman, since my standards for them are extremely tight, so with the ninth round, it went to Vladdy.

Second Round: Yordan Alvarez, OF (16th overall)
    I always neglect to draft my outfielders literally every year, so I was glad to get such a good one in the second round.

Third Round: Manny Machado, 3B (33rd overall)
    Unfortunately, Austin Riley had already been taken.

Fourth Round: Devin Williams, RP (40th overall)
    Closers always go so quickly in the leagues I play in, so I'm content to get who, in my opinion, is the best one in the game.

Fifth Round: Mason Miller, RP (57th overall)
    Pretty much the same concept with Devin Williams. I think Mason Miller is the third-best closer in the league.

    

Sixth Round: Adley Rutschman, C (64th overall)
    A good catcher is a must, and Adley was second on my depth chart (and probably everybody else's). And he plays almost everyday, so I'll only need one catcher.

Seventh Round: Bryan Reynolds, OF (81st overall)
    While taking care of other positional needs, I realized that all the good outfielders were starting to go quickly. I think Bryan Reynolds is good enough to be a second-spot outfielder.

Eighth Round: Tanner Bibee, SP (88th overall)
    Unfortunately, Max Fried had been taken literally two picks before, so I went with the next best thing for my first starting pitcher. Bibee's pretty good (and the namesake of my brother's card blog).

Ninth Round: Bo Bichette, SS (105th overall)
    I may be insane, or I may be genius. We'll just need to see.

Tenth Round: Riley Greene, OF (112th overall)
    His projections were really good, so I took him as my third outfielder. Hopefully he performs as well as his projections suggest.

Eleventh Round: Jared Jones, SP (129th overall)
    Jared Jones had a lot of hype last year before his injury. Hopefully he performs to his potential in 2025. His projections seem a little less than fair in my opinion, but I am no expert.

Twelfth Round: Nico Hoerner, 2B,SS (136th overall)
    Nico absolutely must land on my team. I either draft him or, more often, trade for him. Either way he's always on my team. Also, up until this point, I had a lot of bombs and no stolen bases on my team, so hopefully he'll remedy that issue.

Thirteenth Round: Kevin Gausman, SP (153rd overall)
    He finished 2024 really strong. I hope he can dominate once again in 2025.

Fourteenth Round: Tanner Houck, SP (160th overall)
    I am a pessimist towards pitchers who have newly found success, and am therefore not extremely optimistic about Houck redoing what he accomplished last year, but hopefully I'm wrong, because look who has him.

Fifteenth Round: Robbie Ray (177th overall)
    By this time, almost all the good starting pitching was gone and most of my offense was set, so why not take a gamble? This could really pay off, or be really terrible. I hven't the slightest idea one way or another.

Sixteenth Round: Tristan Casas, 1B (184th overall)
    My offense rounded out with Casas for my utility role. According to the pre-season rankings, he was a steal to get so late. I really liked this pickup. He supplies good pop and should play every day, assuming he can stay healthy.

Seventeenth Round: Masyn Winn, SS (201st overall)
    Just in case I'm crazy, so I have a backup. And he runs decently well.

Eighteenth Round: Justin Martinez, RP (208th overall)
    I expect he will be closing for the Diamondbacks, and if not he'll get holds (which are once again a category in this league). 

Nineteenth Round: Kenley Jansen, RP (225th overall)
    The same idea goes for Jansen. If Ben Joyce gets the nod as closer, he'll get some holds (although I may want to trade him before the season starts for something good).

Twentieth Round: Gavin Williams, SP (232nd overall)
    He was projected to be pretty good, and I was dying for one last starting pitcher. Hopefully this one turns out well. I think it's got a good chance to.

Twenty-First Round: Yennier Cano, SP (249th overall)
    Holds.

Twenty-Second Round: Blake Treinen, RP (256th overall)
    More holds.

Twenty-Third Round: Chad Green, RP (273rd overall)
    I waited until the last rounds to get my holds in. As a result they are all older pitchers, but they should still be effective. And if not I can always drop them for another rising set-up man.

Twenty-Fourth Round: Garrett Mitchell, OF (280th overall)
    Garrett Mitchell hasn't played a ton in the majors, but when he has he's been pretty good. Plus he runs well for stolen bases. Also, I had only three outfielders at the time, so I kind of needed him. I was extremely happy about this grab, though at the time of his drafting I was a little bit frustrated.



    My strategy going into the draft was to get an overpowering offense and then work on the pitching, since there are plenty of good starting pitchers. This didn't work too well, however, since the guys in the league ate up all the starting pitching really early. Even so, this is what I have for my team:

C: Adley Rutschman 

1B: Vladimir Guerero Jr.

2B: Nico Hoerner

3B: Manny Machado

SS: Bo Bichette

OF: Yordan Alvarez

OF: Bryan Reynolds

OF: Riley Greene

UTIL: Tristan Casas

What I Like: We got some pop. Good power. Should have a pretty high batting average.

What I Don't Like: I wish I didn't need to take a chance on Bo Bichette. Also, everybody here (except for Nico) is on training wheels. I'll probably lose steals most weeks (this is where Masyn Winn and Garrett Mitchell will come in handy).

SP: Tanner Bibee
SP: Jared Jones
SP: Kevin Gausman
SP: Tanner Houck
SP: Robbie Ray
SP: Gavin Williams
RP: Devin Williams
RP: Mason Miller
RP: Justin Martinez
RP: Kenley Jansen
RP: Yennier Cano
RP: Blake Treinen
RP: Chad Green

What I Like: I think I took some good chances and got some good sleepers (Kevin Gausman, Gavin Williams). I believe Jared Jones will be filthy and a good second pitcher. The bullpen is pretty nice too. It could be better, but I expect to win saves more often than not.

What I Don't Like: The starting pitching situation is very mediocre. Clearly my strat was not very effective. I also grabbed a couple relief pitchers who I wasn't sure would be closing games, and drafted one too many relief pitchers (I don't have enough slots, so one sits on my bench). As someone who usually has one of the top three pitching staffs in the league, I don't like this very much.

Overall:

Offense: A-
    I like what I did with a lot of my positions. I think I have a top three or four offense in the league. What I would have liked is a more reliable shortstop and more stolen bases.

Pitching: C-
    I don't like it very much. I'm not sure it'll be too good.

Total Grade: C+

    I can't predict where my team will land, especially since I tend to make a ton of trades in the season. 

    

    The more I look at the team the more I've been liking it, and I think the C+ grade might be the slightest bit harsh. But upon the writing of this post that's what I thought was fair, so I'm sticking with it. 

    Well, there you have it. Please let me know in the comments what you think of my draft, and if you like these posts or not (I have another draft in a week and would like to know if I should post on it). Come back to the blog on Wednesday for the finale of my serial-card countdown. Have a great start to the week, thank you for reading, and happy collecting!

Silence is Golden...

    No, I haven't any cards for this post. But what I did instead of buying cards was pretty cool too. You see, I went with my brother to a concert featuring lead singer of the band Lifehouse, Jason Wade. They are our favorite band, and if you've never heard of these guys, you need to check them out. Their music and lyrics are superb. Buckle up for an extremely strange concert post on a baseball card blog!

    I was bummed out that I had never been to a Lifehouse concert before -- their last album debuted before I was a fan (2015), and the band is currently on hiatus. Then my friend brought to my attention that Mr. Wade and a guitarist from the band (Steve Stout) were playing live acoustic shows close enough to me that with no hesitation I knew I was going to attend.

    The tickets for this bad boy cost a fair deal of card money (this was that 'event' I referred to a couple times in recent posts), money that would have been used on cards had I not been at the concert.

    Anyway, I had been looking forward to this concert for over two months, and the date finally came, a month ago. I'm going to be perfectly honest, for some reason or other I was very nervous about the concert. I know that Jason Wade is my favorite singer and a guy I aspire too, but there was absolutely zero pressure whatsoever. I guess it was more of a 'I can't believe this is really happening!' thing.

    As a true fan of a band, I took video of almost the entire thing (which was allowed) and was going to show off a little of that video I took. If anybody is interested, here are a few of them. To anybody who wants to watch the videos, my phone doesn't have the best camera, so apologies in advance.

Am I Ever Gonna Find Out (My second-most played song on Spotify in 2024)

Halfway Gone

You and Me

    Hanging by a Moment. Their first big hit and the song that most people are familiar with. He closed out the concert with it

Quasimodo. This is not one of my favorite Lifehouse songs, but I had to include it because there's a fair amount of hard rock in the song and this was adapted to be acoustic. 

Here's the original:

    He said we were the best audience of the whole tour, so that was pretty cool. He also complimented the crowd as having a great singing voice. 

    If you watched any of the videos and heard Jason or Steve refer to 'Gary,' they're talking about the artificial tree in the background. It's a long story, but they named it for fun. I guess they name a lot of objects.

This is Gary. He's also my email address's profile picture now...

    Now, I spent a good deal of my money on this concert, and I wasn't leaving empty-handed. So I picked up a poster that had been autographed by both Jason Wade and Steve Stout. However, I have been unable to find a decently priced poster frame (most of them cost more than the actual poster), and may just need to order one online. Once I do I'll be sure to get a post out there with the poster.

    Well, that does it for this post. There's another thing crossed off the bucket list:

See Lifehouse perform live

    2 out of 4 band members counts as the band. Anyway, I apologize for the random pictures; when you have a memorable experience you want to take everything in, which is exactly what I did. If you wanna see my entire YouTube channel, click here. Right now it's just a few of the videos from the concert, but I will add some other stuff to it in the future. Have a great weekend, thanks for reading the blog, and happy collecting!