Advice for a new prospector

[Omega732]

I am new to the hobby and when I broke a box of Bowman Draft last night (which I bought with the slim hope of pulling a Harper), a few packs in I realized that I did not know a single player in the set and, thus, had no idea if I was pulling good cards or not :o (and no, I did not get a Harper).

How do you guys stay abreast of the up and coming prospects?

Thank you for the advice!

[messier2]

BaseballAmerica.com (http://www.baseballamerica.com)
Minor League Ball - A SBNation Community about Minor League Baseball, Rookies, and Prospects (http://www.minorleagueball.com)
The Official Site of Minor League Baseball (http://www.milb.com)
Baseball Prospectus (http://www.baseballprospectus.com)

[sportcrazynick]

just an fyi. its probably better to buy bowman chrome or regular bowman if you're hoping to pull a harper auto or anything of that nature

[metscollector]

part of the fun of it is learning about these guys.. which used to be what baseball cards were about in the first place. i think a good place to start is to read tha back of the card! check the rd they were drafted in.. check out their stats. then obviously whenever you get interested in a particular player just google them to learn much more. there are lots of pay sites and subscription sites but you dont need them.

[DadofTwins]

Also, check completed Ebay auctions and see what cards of specificr players sell for.

[nhsportsguy]

part of the fun of it is learning about these guys.. which used to be what baseball cards were about in the first place. i think a good place to start is to read tha back of the card! check the rd they were drafted in.. check out their stats. then obviously whenever you get interested in a particular player just google them to learn much more. there are lots of pay sites and subscription sites but you dont need them.

Just a quick point of fact - baseball cards actually started as a way for tobacco, gum, food products companies, etc, to sell more of their product by offering a little something extra. :)!

Gotta love how that small marketing effort turned into the hobby it is today!

[metscollector]

Just a quick point of fact - baseball cards actually started as a way for tobacco, gum, food products companies, etc, to sell more of their product by offering a little something extra. :)!

Gotta love how that small marketing effort turned into the hobby it is today!

well i realize that obviously.. but the purpose of the actual card was to get a picture of the player and to be able to learn something about them real quick. i just meant this is different than now where the purpose is more about investing

[kwalter12]

I am new to the hobby and when I broke a box of Bowman Draft last night (which I bought with the slim hope of pulling a Harper), a few packs in I realized that I did not know a single player in the set and, thus, had no idea if I was pulling good cards or not :o (and no, I did not get a Harper).

How do you guys stay abreast of the up and coming prospects?

Thank you for the advice!

I'll usually just print auto checklists before or a bit after each bowman product comes out and put in the work of researching each player. Once you get some good general information about players you can pick a few that really catch your eye. Track their progress or lack there of during the Minor League Season and know the important stats.. isoP, OPS, K/BB, BABIP, etc.... you really have to enjoy prospecting to do a good job with it or make money. If you don't enjoy prospecting I wouldnt recommend busting a lot of Bowman. Just buy a Harper auto and call it a day:)!

[Omega732]

Thank you all for the tips. I am not looking to dedicate a ton of time to prospecting, I just want to have an idea of who the up and coming guys are besides just the #1 prospect so if I buy more Bowman in the future I reconize at least some of the players. Your advice, and the websites listed above, are helpful to that end.

[nhsportsguy]

well i realize that obviously.. but the purpose of the actual card was to get a picture of the player and to be able to learn something about them real quick. i just meant this is different than now where the purpose is more about investing

I'm sorry, bud, the point wasn;t to say you were wrong, but to comment of how far the hobby has come from such humble beginnings. My apologies for sounding as though I were lecturing.