Bad Wax

Musings of a Card Collector

Roughs on the Diamond – Sean Doolittle

One of the toughest things to do as a card collector is predicting who will be good and who will not make it.  Players may have incredible seasons, but fail to have what it takes to get into the big leagues.  Thousands of rookie cards come out every single year and it seems like the prices are set at random.  In reality, is a Fernando Martinez card worth $100? Who knows, so what buy high, when you can use my guide to find some roughs on the diamond.

The first player I’d like to focus on is Sean Doolittle.  He was drafted as the 41st overall pick in 2007.  He was a Junior at the University of Virgina (same school as Ryan Zimmerman).  He was also a member of a very good 2006 Team USA (the year with David Price and Pedro Alvarez). Currently he plays for Class A Stockton in the Oakland A’s farm. Here was his 2007 Draft Report from Minor League baseball’s website:

Focus Area
Comments
Hitting Ability: Doolittle makes good, consistent solid contact from the left side and should hit for average in the future
Power: He has not been a huge power guy in college, but neither was Ryan Zimmerman at UVa.’s spacious home park. His ability to make solid contact has some thinking he has projectable power.
Running Speed: Doolittle can run a little bit and is more athletic than your typical first baseman.
Arm Strength: Doolittle has above-average arm strength from first. Some like him as a pitching prospect, a southpaw who throws 87-90 mph from the mound.
Fielding: Doolittle has solid hands at first and fields his position well.
Range: An athletic first baseman, Doolittle is not tied to the bag.
Physical Description: Doolittle is athletic, but not huge, drawing comparisons to Wally Joyner.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Good hittability; should hit for average by making consistent, solid contact.
Weaknesses: Power potential. It’s hard to say how much power Doolittle will hit for at the next level and might not hit for the kind of pop most like to see from his position.
Summary: Doolittle has excellent hitting skills and should hit well for average as a pro. An athletic first baseman with good hands, his draft status may depend on how much power scouts think he will hit for at the next level. He’s a safe, solid draft pick who should have a big-league future. He was a two-way player at Virginia, but most scouts see him as a hitter and not a pitcher.

As you can see from his report, the main concern from him was that he was a first baseman and he might not show power of the typical first baseman.  That’s the difference between a first rounder and  a second rounder I guess.  Well the A’s took a chance on him and hoped he would develop into a power hitting first baseman and from the look of this season they are not disappointed.

2007 stats: 0.243/4/33 in 239 at bats.

2008 stats (through 7/3): 0.314/18/58 in 312 at bats.  His big problem is the strikeouts (91).

Well I guess the power and average are there for your typical first baseman, but he needs to learn the strike zone better.  His 29% strike out percentage is pretty bad. He still has quite a way to go, but with Daric Barton having trouble in the majors, the A’s are going to be forced to take a look at their minor league first basemen and Doolittle could be in the mix within the next two years. My projected ETA would be 2010.

I’ve seen his autographs go anywhere from $0.99 to about $4.00, but if you be patient you could find some real deals.  I think he is worth a flyer, the real test will be when the A’s move him to Midland (AA) and see whether he can hit that level of pitching.  The California League is a notoriously offensive league, so let’s see what he can do in the Texas League (more of a balanced league).

July 3, 2008 Posted by chemgod | Roughs on the Diamond | , , , , | No Comments Yet

Operation Topps – 1987 Topps (Pack 38)

This review will be extremely short.  I am going through the packs now before I review them to separate the doubles from the singles.  Unfortunately, this one only has one card I need for the set.  So it’s one review and 16 links to previous reviews.  I didn’t get a chance to scan the card, mainly because I didn’t think his career merited it.  Anyways, I may not get a chance to post tomorrow and I don’t know just how busy I will be here today, so I want to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July weekend.  If you live in proximity to real fireworks, be ultra safe.  Now on to the one card review . . .

1. Mark Gubicza

Position: P

Team: Royals

Card Number: 326

Age: 24

1987 Stats: 13-18/3.98/1.45

Awards: None

Player Notes: Although he was one of my favorite pitchers growing up, I know he was not an ace.  He was on a pretty solid staff in 1987, with the likes of Saberhagen, Liebrandt, Bud Black, not to mention the Quis in relief.  I would say overall not a bad pitcher, but nothing more than a 0.500 guy.

Fun Facts: Mark’s father, Anthony, pitched in the White Sox chain.  He lists his hobbies as music, actually the card says his hobby is being music, but i think it’s a typo, it’s not like someone wants to be a note.

2. Dann Bilardello – Previously reviewed in pack 33.

3. John Tudor - Previously reviewed in pack 33.

4. Chris Codiroli - Previously reviewed in pack 33.

5. Roger McDowell - Previously reviewed in pack 31.

6. Ken Dixon -Previously reviewed in pack 31.

7. Curt Wilkerson -Previously reviewed in pack 31.

8. Dale Murphy -Previously reviewed in pack 31.

9. LaMarr Hoyt - Previously reviewed in pack 8.

10. Mike Aldrete - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

11. Joaquin Andujar - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

12. Greg Minton - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

13. Andy Alanson - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

14. Mark Langston - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

15. Dave Parker - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

16. Lou Whitaker - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

17. Bob Ojeda - Previously reviewed in pack 9.

This is a great display of how Topps in 1987 loved to put certain cards in runs.  The only card that didn’t fit in a run was the LaMarr Hoyt card.  The only saving grace of this sad pack is the Dale Murphy card, but still it’s almost a decade into his career at that point.  So I am going to give this pack the dreaded 0.5 star rating. Just because it just didn’t bring anything to the table.  This went a lot faster than I expected, look for another post at somepoint today.

July 3, 2008 Posted by chemgod | Operation Topps | , , , , | No Comments Yet