I decided to add another arena to my Bad Wax website. This will be called Undervalued Wax. The premise behind these posts is to expose players, whose cards go unnoticed on eBay. They may have been promising rookies who bloomed later than expected. Maybe it’s a player on small market team that for whatever reason goes unappreciated. Any way you shake it, the player will be a leader on his team but undervalued on the eBay market.
My first player to review is Carlos Quentin. Carlos was drafted in 2003 in the first round, 29th overall pick, out of Stanford University by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Being 21 years old when you are drafted and in the first round, certain things are expected out of you. You must climb the minor league ladder rapidly. Carlos did just that, in 2004 he went 0.332/21/89 in high A and AA ball. Then in 2005 he went 0.301/21/89 in AAA, and appeared on a cable reality show about life in the minor leagues. 2006 was supposed to be his year, when he came into spring training, he was gunning for a starting job. He didn’t get it and ended up in the minors. Mid way through the season he got the call. He finished the 2006 season hitting 0.253/9/32 in 166 at bats. By 2007 he was penciled in as the starting outfielder for the Diamondbacks along with Justin Upton and Chris Young.
I think we all know what happens after that. In 2007 he runs into some trouble trying to prove he deserves to be in the bigs. His batting average slips to 0.214 before he is demoted. The final blow was being left off the 2007 post season roster. During the 2007 off season he was dealt to the White Sox for Christopher Carter. This may have been the best thing to happen to him. A change of scenery may have been all he needed. In 2008 he won the starting outfielder job and is now a starter with the White Sox. Currently through mid June he is 0.280/17/56. While this may seem like a fluke, it is hardly the case.
Carlos is now 25 years old. Statistically speaking, a players prime years (his best seasons) should be between the ages of 26-32. While sometimes this age is skewed to as low as 24 and as high as 34, Carlos seems to be hitting his prime right now. We knew he had the power as evidenced by his 42 homer in two season in the minors. So these numbers are not so crazy. You can possibly expect him to be a 0.275-0.285/25-30/80-100 guy when it’s all said and done. Best of all he is a smart player. He treats his body like a temple and stays in shape year round.
I started noticing his cards in the bargain bin of late and I think right now would be a sweet time to start to ride the tide on him. He should at some point in his career be an All Star caliber player, whether or not he’ll be capable of sustaining this output remains to be seen, but I always like to put my money on first round talent especially moneyball type players like Carlos. Here is a quick sample of cards that can be had below $2.50.
