In case you missed it, Kyle Blanks had back to back nights of highlights. Two nights ago he hit his forst walk off home run, then last night he hit an inside the park home run. You wouldn’t think from looking at him that he has this kind of power but he is a legitamate 0.280/25/100 guy.
This is Kyle’s rookie season in the majors. He was drafted in 2005 out of Sellersville, PA high school in the 42nd round. Since then he has moved up one level a year. This year he opened the season in AAA Portland and was just hammering the ball to the tune of 0.283/12/38 in just 280 at bats. He was recalled from the minors on June 19th and hasn’t looked back. He along with Wil Venable are making a case for an eciting future in Padres baseball.
So far this season Kyle has been hitting 0.252/8/18 in just 131 at bats. He will surely go over the rookie alotment of at bats this season which is a shame because he had an outside shot at rookie of the year if he had played the entire season. As you would expect after his last two days, his cards have been moving up in value, but there are still deals to be had. Currently on eBay you can find his rookie cards running for about $1 – $2 and his signed Bowman cards going for between $6 – $10. Is he going to be a superstar in this league? Maybe not, but he sure is exciting to watch play.
Below is his 2006 Bowman Chrome rookie card and his 2006 Bowman Rookie Autographed card (blue version):
I appreciate the artcile on Blanks, he is one of only a few bright spots for Padres fans this year. I need to take exception to your comment that “You wouldn’t think from looking at him that he has this kind of power.” This guy is huge. He is officially listed as 6’6″, 285 lbs. He definitely has the size for great power number potential.
More surprising is his speed and athleticism for his size. True, the inside the park home run took a funny hop off the wall, but Blanks still moves pretty quick for a kid his size. I see a bright future for him in the years to come. Hopefully, the Padres keep him around.
He’s a focused, intense, intimidating, and driven player that can last long in the majors. Saw him last year when he was with Padres AA team.
Also 2007 Bowman autograph card is his first card released.
Finally someones seen how grat Kyle Blanks has been he has potential. Some of his cards are reaching up to 60 bucks like the bowman gold refractor.
The walk off was awesome. He is gigantic in person!