Prospects that surprised you?

[Brady7799]

opposite thread but we all know how Mike Trout and Aaron Judge came out of relative nowhere to become hobby darlings. anyone have a prospect that didn't get the hype blow up in value?

Fernando Tatis Jr:

i don't recall Tatis Jr being a real hot name out of the gate when the product was released. i was buying 1st chomes for $.25 and flipping them for a few bucks. back then, i knew that this wouldn't be the norm but it really got me thinking that flipping cards would be a real option for me to turn into a PC using the profits. don't have much, if any, Tatis cards in my PC but he helped me buy up a lot of Vlads which makes up the great majority of my modern PC.

Mookie Betts:

didn't get the hype coming up the minors but he's since turned into a total stud and on the road to the HOF. i was grabbing a few cards early on for great values and they are part of my PC with no intention to sell unless i'm going to consolidate into a bigger Mookie card. my favourite Mookie is his Topps RC gold parallel. it's super clean looking and very sexy in raw. easy PSA 9 eyeballing the criteria with a shot at a 10 but i've never graded cards so what do i know?

Juan Soto:

seems like he flew up the minors without fanfare and thrust into the MLB because of injuries to the Nats and he never looked back. Soto is a big PC guy for me and i snapped up a bunch of his cards that have easily survived the peak and valley of the hobby since COVID. just like Mookie, i've got no intention to sell unless i'm going to try and obtain a bigger Soto card. my current favourite Soto is probably his Heritage purple chrome in raw.

now, my PC is pretty low end. some base, some chromes and parallels but i love the idea that i was able to build it without money out of my pocket. if you define a hobby as an active pursuit where you exchange your time for enjoyment, then it's nice to think that my hobby for baseball cards as resulted in a very modest stash of cardboard. looking through them on a lazy sunday takes me back to being a 90s kid and knowing i really don't care for current values lets me not think about money gained or lost. time well spent, imo.

let's hear some prospect success stories!

[Poorboy]

Fwiw I never get tired of seeing that group of soto fbc autos that
Pops up From time to time.
There’s a bunch of them.
Lol
Was that Reggie’s group ?
When he went all in?

[callou2131]

Gunnar Henderson. Second rounder now an MVP type player.
Also Altuve. Who thought a 5'1 walk on would be a HOF caliber player

[PejaD]

Jackson Merrill. Looked like a punch & judy hitter in the offensively boosted Cal League. He was coming off injuries, so I probably did not get to see him at his best.

[Triple B]

Anyone collecting in 2001 knows how Albert Pujols came out of nowhere.

[rfgilles]

Jacob DeGrom. Ninth round draft pick and didn't make his MLB debut until he was 26.

[DaveTaplin]

That Mike Piazza character was a shock.

[TBTC Baseball]

Johan Santana - rule 5 after going 8-8 4.66 in A ball.

[Bergkamp11]

Kevin Seitzer. Went from little known prospect to meteoric rise thanks to his incredible 1987 rookie season

[corockies]

At one time I owned around 125 of the 500 2005 Donruss Elite RC autos. of Ubaldo Jimenez. I was buying them cheap $2-$5 per at product release - who collects Rockies pitchers right? Sat on those until 2010 when Ubaldo went completely insane the first half of the season - moved most of the autos. for $100+. I still have a stack of around 20.

[Poorboy]

Originally Posted by Bergkamp11

Kevin Seitzer. Went from little known prospect to meteoric rise thanks to his incredible 1987 rookie season

he was on fire!

[Poorboy]

Originally Posted by corockies

At one time I owned around 125 of the 500 2005 Donruss Elite RC autos. of Ubaldo Jimenez. I was buying them cheap $2-$5 per at product release - who collects Rockies pitchers right? Sat on those until 2010 when Ubaldo went completely insane the first half of the season - moved most of the autos. for $100+. I still have a stack of around 20.

niiiiiiiiceeeeeeeee

[rms13]

Originally Posted by Bergkamp11

Kevin Seitzer. Went from little known prospect to meteoric rise thanks to his incredible 1987 rookie season

Then back to meteoricy. I'll always remember when he tried to blow a ball foul:

https://youtu.be/o6jygEJctJ8?si=65-XrK-OUVSAy8BF

[Poorboy]

Originally Posted by rms13

Then back to meteoricy. I'll always remember when he tried to blow a ball foul:

https://youtu.be/o6jygEJctJ8?si=65-XrK-OUVSAy8BF

lol wasnt there another more recent player?

[rwperu34]

Virtually every prospect surprises in one way or another. Either too good or too bad. Every superstar has exceeded any reasonable expectation, including no doubters like Griffey Jr and A-Rod.

That said, Aaron Judge is a big one for me. His minor league stats were mediocre for a player his age and when I saw him in the AFL, he looked like a big galoot with warning track power. Between 2014 and 2017 he completely revamped his swing, to the point that it is the best in baseball (ie the most similar to Bonds).

[Poorboy]

Originally Posted by rwperu34

Virtually every prospect surprises in one way or another. Either too good or too bad. Every superstar has exceeded any reasonable expectation, including no doubters like Griffey Jr and A-Rod.

That said, Aaron Judge is a big one for me. His minor league stats were mediocre for a player his age and when I saw him in the AFL, he looked like a big galoot with warning track power. Between 2014 and 2017 he completely revamped his swing, to the point that it is the best in baseball (ie the most similar to Bonds).

I did not know that ……

[Poorboy]

So to keep it just in one thread ?
Would judge be the last big score ?

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by Poorboy

So to keep it just in one thread ?
Would judge be the last big score ?

Soto and Ohtani came after Judge. Ohtani was priced ludicrous out of the gate, but I'm sure he's still up quite a bit since 2018. Soto was like a $70 BCA at one point, now he's $1500.

[Poorboy]

How about yer buddy long in the tooth yordan ? Lol

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by Poorboy

How about yer buddy long in the tooth yordan ? Lol

Started at $70, now at $250 or so. He's not to their level. I'm looking for the Triple Crown MVP this year though...

[Poorboy]

I am still intruiged by Phillies saltiban but that’s a different thread
Lol

[Poorboy]

Originally Posted by rwperu34

Started at $70, now at $250 or so. He's not to their level. I'm looking for the Triple Crown MVP this year though...

Let’s hope he is amazing and if he goes off on a deep run ?
Wow
I could see 330/50/120

[hermanotarjeta]

Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Rizzo, Nolan Arenado, Christian Yelich, Francisco Lindor, Walker Buehler, Austin Riley, Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna, Shohei Ohtani.

[sandyfrank]

I will say Juan Soto, had no idea when he was a prospect that he would turn into a potential hall of fame player.

Jackson Merrill also really surprising but want to see another year of what he can do.

[Chris Lyle]

I remember when people thought Jose Ramirez would be a super utility guy and maybe stay in the majors.