I've never opened a pack of Topps Heritage Minors, but I do enjoy the set. I like seeing minor league players on some iconic designs of the past.
This year, I threw two cards from 2017 Heritage Minors into my shopping cart during COMC's Black Friday weekend.
The first is an on-card autograph of Nick Solak. While I've gotten him TTM before, I didn't have a certified autograph.
Currently, Solak finds himself ranked the Yankees 8th best prospect, according to MLB.com. He was the Yankees 2nd round pick in 2016 out of Louisville. All the guy has ever done is hit. In his first full season of pro ball, he hit .297 between High A Tampa and AA Trenton. He also hit 12 homers, so he's got a little pop despite being a contact guy.
The second pickup is a Clubhouse Collection relic of former #4 overall pick Dillon Tate, who the Yankees got from Texas in the Carlos Beltran trade. He lost his groove a bit in Texas' system, but rebounded nicely last year while mirroring Solak's season in A+ Tampa and AA Trenton. Overall, he went 7-2 in 13 starts with a 2.81 ERA. It'll be interesting to see if he can build upon that in 2018 at AA.
Two cards as part of throw-ins to my larger order, and two guys I'll be paying close attention to this season.
No Florial? (Checks price, is surprised at how much the base is going for).
ReplyDeleteTate might go on to be a wonderful steal for the Yankees. And Solak may end up as another Tyler Wade (which is great).
I can barely keep up with MLB guys, so trying to follow minor leaguers is next to impossible for me. But I do like the idea of collecting minor league cards. I'm just the guy who usually pays top dollar, because I wait for the player to make it big (instead of doing it the prospecting way).
ReplyDeleteI used to prospect the Pirates a lot, but the likes of Brian Bixler, Stetson Allie, and the like have made me only focus on established MLB guys.
ReplyDelete