Before taking a single at bat, Jasson Dominguez is dominating the baseball card world.
2020 Bowman Baseball is nowhere to be found in the retail universe. Year over year, Bowman baseball cards are one of the only products in late-stage capitalism that corporations cannot keep in stock.
Stephen Strasburg is to blame for some of this. Back in 2010, I was stopping at Wal-Marts off the highway, tiny town Targets and roadside Casey's in search of 2010 Bowman blaster boxes. They cost 19.99 in stores and sold for about $40 online. Inside a blaster box were eight packs, two chrome prospect cards per pack. (Today, Topps has shrunk the pack count to six but kept the pricing.) Some of the craze was that a Strasburg base 1st Chrome rookie went for about $50 on eBay. Some of the craze was due to the high-end market. An attorney bought the Strasburg 1/1 Superfractor--not autographed--from 2010 bowman for $10,000 and sold it a short while later for $26,000.
Ten years later, Bowman is the biggest thing in baseball, and Jasson Dominguez is growing the game yet again.
Here's a table I put together built from the elite group of my
Top 200 for easy viewing and comparing.
Buck Farmer (@B_Farm09), joins the show to talk about his career, favorite baseball memories, and what it was like growing up as a Braves fan in Georgia. We also discuss the mental aspect of baseball and how sometimes it is overlooked, also what he did to improve and have a career year in 2019.
Singing a'la Ethel Merman, "I......saac Paredes!" You ever wonder if Ethel Merman was an actual merman, the fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a man and the tail of a fish? Well, I do. It keeps me up at night, actually. Cougs rolls over in the middle of the night, and sees my eyes are open, as I stare at the ceiling. Finally, she asks, "Are you thinking about Ethel Merman again?" Sullenly, I nod my head, then I turn to her, "She was so...fascinating." Any hoo! Isaac Paredes is brought to you by me, after Podcaster Ralph brought him to my attention. True story alert! I woke up yesterday at 7 AM from a text message that read from Ralph, "I have your next Dart Throw." Groggy (after thinking about Ethel Merman all night), I replied, "Who...?" And thus began a back and forth of Ralph telling me Jeimer Candelario wouldn't be starting at 3rd base this year for the Tigers, and I......saac Paredes would. Back in January, which was approximately 18 months ago in real time, Prospect Itch said Isaac Paredes was a solid pick in 50-round draft and hold leagues, i.e., Draft Champion leagues. With no minor leagues this year, and Paredes on the 40-man roster, and a Latin 21 years old, and every team having a chance in a shortened season, why, I ask, not? He's definitely going late (NFBC ADP 748), and is a guy who will be available in the deepest of leagues, even your 12-team AL-Only whosie-ma-jigs. So, what can we expect from Isaac Paredes for 2020 fantasy baseball and what makes him a great dart throw?
Well, I thought by the time June rolled around I'd be writing knowing whether or not a plan was in place for at least an attempt at baseball in 2020, but instead as I write this the immediate future of the MLB, along with much else in the world, is still painfully up in the air. As we all deal with everything going on around us, though, I don't think it's too self-indulgent to turn to a favorite past time/hobby/obsession/part-time job to help strengthen us mentally and emotionally -- and for the readers and writers here at Razzball, that past time, of course, is fantasy baseball.
Since I've always been a fan of mining bad real-life MLB teams for deep-league value -- attempting to find treasure in the perceived trash pile that other owners may overlook completely -- we'll take one of those bad MLB teams and see what it might have to offer, especially for us deep leaguers. I'm choosing the Marlins, since for about five months now I've just had a feeling that they could be at least a bit better than folks expect, especially in fantasy terms (though in a shortened season with expanded playoffs, who knows what craziness could ensue). I've gone through my rosters, and here are the Marlins I have on multiple teams, all of whom I'd consider grabbing more shares of if and when I draft more teams for 2020. Let's see who on this team is leading the charge to make me think there might be something to see here...
Players are saying they want to play 114 games; owners are saying 50 games; I've been saying 100 games, and, if I were just guessing now for the first time, I'd split 114 and 50 and still tell you 80-100 games.
The players are saying 114 games because, well, for a myriad of reasons, I imagine. One reason might be they want to seem like they're ready to play, but owners are holding them back. This way the players can say, "We said 'Let's go and play,' but the owners said, 'Nah, you can't have any money, we're poor babies, so no baseball.'" Another less cynical reason might be the players just want to play, if they're paid. What stood out to me in the players' proposal was the contingency that a player can sit out if they want. They don't need to be high-risk to Covid-19. They can just say, "Yo, y'all do your thing, and I'm gonna do my thing and I'll catch you on the flip." So, with that in mind, and, in the highly speculative market of futures and dart throws, or simply Fu DarTh, as it's known in most circles that rely on the Force and midi-chlorians, a guy like Mike Trout could sit out this year. Fu DarTh relies on space (on the field) and a light (on players) and dark side (of the MLB this year without its best player). Jo Adell would benefit in this space (on the field) scenario. *white text on a black screen scrolls out with the MLBPA proposal, suddenly, a SWOOSH, and a giant Joe Maddon head overtakes the dark space* It will give Joe Maddon less options to use instead of Adell, too. Keep your nonsense with playing Brian Goodwin, if you must. Assume Justin Upton gets on the field, if you have to. If Mike Trout's not there, Jo Adell will have to be. By the way, I mention this on Trout, because he's already said he doesn't want to play if it means he can't leave the team to be with his wife for the birth of their child. Plus, Trout's set for life; he doesn't need this headache. Finally, I haven't even mentioned how rosters will be expanded and there won't be minor leagues this year. Even if Mike Trout plays, Jo Adell should too. So, what can we expect from Jo Adell for 2020 fantasy baseball and what makes him a great dart throw?
Jeff Levering (@JLevering4), radio play by play voice of the Milwaukee Brewers joins the show to breakdown the Brew Crew. We dive into the surprisingly deep rotation and bullpen. We discuss what Corbin Burnes has to do to re-discover his elite form to make a major impact in the rotation. Can Brandon Woodruff take the next step and become one of the best pitcher in the N.L.? Will Corey Knebel get his closing role back or will it be Josh Haders to lose? We also dive into the lineup and discuss how big of an impact Avisail Garcia, Brock Holt and Luis Urias can have. Can Christian Yelich hold this lineup together and provide another MVP type season? We discuss all these topic and more!
It was with great pleasure and numerous giggles, we welcomed comedian J-L Cauvin onto our
Patreon show.