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Welcome to my 2024 season recap and review, where I’m looking back over the last 365 days and shining a light on the biggest card gainers.
Meaning, while there were a lot of “flash in the pan” examples that took off and died down just as quickly, these are the cards that have come a long way from where they were about a year ago (give or take), and hopefully have a long runway in front of them.
In today’s part 1, I’m looking at a few guys who, if you can believe it, were never mentioned in my “every-few-days-or-so” hot baseball card reports.
Now, some of these cards are just getting hot now, which means they are more a function of timing, but worth the mention now nonetheless.
Fun stuff either way.
1. Emmanuel Clase
How I didn’t ever see Emmanuel Clase in my review of the many, many Market Movers’ reports is beyond me. The card checks all the boxes that I look for, so I’m a bit perplexed.
Anyway, forgive me for letting this one slip, because as you can see, there is quite a bit of growth here with Emmanuel Clase’s 2020 Topps Chrome Rookie Refractor.
Selling for less than $25 in October of 2023, this card really started to hit its stride around June, selling for a handful of times around $50, and then continuing to increase to its most recent sale of about $90 at the beginning of September.
The Indians are officially AL Central champs, so you can expect to see more of Clase this October, with eyes from around the world watching the Guardians making their triumphant return to – and through – the postseason.
- 10/13/2024 $118
- 9/3/2024 $89.99
- 8/18/2024 3 sales, $76.33 average
2. Tre’ Morgan
Would you believe it if I told you Tre’ Morgan was one of the most dominant minor leaguers this past season?
He was just named the Rays’ minor leaguer of the year:
Morgan, ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Rays’ organization, has enjoyed a banner season in his second year in professional baseball.
Morgan made a huge climb in 2024, starting in Class A with Charleston, where he batted .320 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 26 games. He was promoted to High Class A Bowling Green, where he hit .371 with six home runs and 44 RBI in 53 games.
So again, how does something like this fly under my radar?
Well, when I look at the trends, I usually look at the last 7 days of data, and I also put a filter on for the minimum amount of sales during that time period, too (usually 3 or 4 sales). This helps me weed out any one-off nonsense. It’s a combo of value and volume.
But in this case, while the card is increasing in value, there wasn’t much volume.
- 10/8/2024 2 sales, $75.34 average
- 9/15/2024 2 sales, $94.00 average
- 8/23/2024 $54.00
So, a hole in my process, but here you go.
3. Noah Schultz
As witnessed by the many players from the A’s, Rockies, and other “weak” teams, sometimes talent transcends.
So, here we have Noah Schultz of the White Sox, who was named the top left-handed pitching prospect back in July. (He reminds me of AJ Puk, but don’t hold that against him!)
The White Sox sent Schultz to High-A to begin 2024, and he only made seven starts at the level before earning a promotion to Double-A. Across 13 total starts this year, Schultz has a 1.95 FIP, 36.2% strikeout rate and 5.0% walk rate.
…
Schultz has a lower release point for his 6-foot-9 frame which helps the deceptiveness of his slider. It also helps with his fastball, which is a quality pitch as well. It sits around 94-96 mph while topping out at 98, and it averages a large amount of arm-side run at 17.6 inches.
Wondering how one of the top pitchers in the minors doesn’t get a mention on any of my lists for the last few months?
You can see it from the above, and detailed here below:
- 10/12/2024 $46.24
- 9/24/2024 $34.85
- 9/1/2024 $35.00
4. Colby Thomas
No, this wasn’t me hiding the A’s player for my own PC-purchasing.
Colby Thomas did have a great year, though, which recently culminated in being named the A’s Minor League Player of the Year:
The 23-year-old spent this season at Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas. Thomas hit .277/.342/.563 with 31 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 132 games. He was one of six minor league hitters to reach the 30-homer plateau.
- 10/7/2024 $29.75
- 9/23/2024 $17.99
- 9/21/2024 $20.00
5. Demetrio Crisantes
This 2023 Bowman Chrome Auto was a sub-$5 floater until around June sometime, which is when Crisantes started to go off:
The Arizona Diamondbacks have a 20-year-old prospect on his way to making minor league baseball history.
Infielder Demetrio Crisantes, a 2022 seventh-round pick from Nogales High School, reached base safely in 57 consecutive games from June 25 to the end of the regular season at Single-A Visalia in a breakout campaign.
Crisantes is tracking down the unofficial MiLB record of 71 straight games, set by former Boston Red Sox players Kevin Millar and Kevin Youkilis. Crisantes will have the opportunity to do next season.
I look forward to what the youngster has in store for next season.
- 10/8/2024 $19.05
- 10/3/2024 $29.99
- 10/1/2024 2 sales, $18.76 average
