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:
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Focus Area
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Comments
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| 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).
