2022 MLB Draft and Panini Prospecting

It's that time again, although it feels a lot later this year...

Time for Rob Manfred to get booed loudly in public!

Though not as loud as the boos Denver game him at last year's draft.

Thanks Colorado!

The Dodgers may own the Rockies, but we beat their ass in Manfred Booing!

Now it is time for the 2022 MLB Draft!

Which is one of my favorite baseball events of the year. While I don't follow any college baseball, I try to read up on the draft prospects, so I'm somewhat familiar when the draft comes. Dating back to my earliest collecting habits, I've been a prospect chaser. Not to a great degree anymore, due to the sheer cost of trying to keep up with it. I like to speculate on who will grow into major leaguers and have successful careers. Then there's the ones that crash and burn. It's always more than you'd expect when you hear them all talked up so high on draft night. You just have to let it play out and see what happens.

Never fully satisfied with what currently is, I want to see what's next!

In anticipation, I bought a Hobby Box of 2022 Panini USA Baseball Stars & Stripes. Filled with 40 cards depicting unknown amateurs, from Team USA's roster of college and high school players. (I've always wondered, since these are all amateur athletes, do they get paid for appearing in this product? How about for scribbling their names, hundreds of times?) Whatever...

Also buying a 36 card, $20 Blaster, to supplement my draft day material. I'll scan all of these cards, then watch to see where these players land in the draft. Maybe I'll write a story about it... Sounds like something I'd do...

Maybe with a little luck, one of my hits will become high draft picks?

Well, these two didn't...

Neither did this tri-colored patch...

(There really is three colors if you look REALLY close...)

Going into this with the idea that I'd have basically 2 boxes worth of cards, to slot into my draft story. But the base cards in the Blaster box are "Longevity" base cards. (As opposed to the "Longevity" parallel cards, that are randomly inserted in Hobby boxes...) Which means those are all printed on foilboard, instead of the usual white card stock. Which means, those cards scan terrible. So I'm not going to scan very many of these, unless I have none of the Shortgevity cards available.

Just wanted to note that I was irritated by this.

Let's get draftin'!

Here's our panel, all 5 of them looking around to figure out who farted. Can you pick out the guilty one?

Hint: For once I'm not blaming O'Dowd for something...

Manfred's back to announce the first pick in the 2002 MLB Draft, Round 1...

Pick 1 - Jackson Holliday - Orioles

Of the top players in this years draft, I probably knew the least about Holliday.

Besides the fact that his dad was pretty damn good.

Jackson is a high school shortstop, and if you're drafted first overall, it's safe to say that you're a good prospect. All five tools I'm sure. One comparison I read was "more advanced than Bobby Witt Jr." Well, Witt is barely a finished project. No knock on Witt, but if you're going to speculate on a high school athlete, don't compare him to a 21 year old rookie in the Majors. What familiar, established player, active or retired, does Holliday best compare to?

Oh well, like every number 1 pick ever, there's more Brien Taylors than Ken Griffey Jr.'s. See how he works out in 5 years. I wish him luck...

Speaking of kids of former Major League Stars...

Pick 2 - Druw Jones - Diamondbacks

I have both the Longevity retail base and hobby parallels. With different pictures. I've cared very little about trying to understand the parallel system. The odds are if I had a card that was worth actual money, I'd be able to identify that, the second I saw it.

While I appreciate Panini typing out all of this nonsense, the same 12 words are used so many times in one long paragraph, that it's unreadable. Good thing I don't need to care!

As soon as I saw these cards back in April, I knew Jones was widely speculated as a likely first overall pick. Saving these was a no brainer. As a comp, you have to go with his father's career. Sure doesn't seem all that long ago the hobby was going nuts over Druw's then-19 year old father, Andruw. 

I hated the Braves, but I had to keep several nice early Andrew Jones cards. A 1996 Bowman's Best Cuts Refractor definitely fits in that category. I also believe Andrew Jones should be in the Hall of Fame. 

As a Brave. 

Ow, that hurts...

The third pick in the draft went to the Texas Rangers.

Who literally made my jaw drop.

Pick 3 - Kumar Rocker - Rangers

The 10th overall pick of last years draft (to the Mets), Rocker didn't sign due to a medical issue. He had surgery last year, and pitched in the Independent Frontier League this Spring, to show he was healthy. Speculated to maybe go in the late first round, or early second. Third overall? No one called that. Laura was sitting in the kitchen behind me, doing something computery on the table, and heard my exclamation of shock. So I had to briefly explain Rocker's draft history to her, as MLB Network was echoing my summary on the TV.

When you looked at it deeper, it actually made quite a bit of sense. One of the MLB Network guys explained it like this (I'll try to summarize): Rocker is considered (if healthy) to be close to Major League ready, with 1-2 starter potential. Texas spent HEAVILY in free agency during the 2021-22 offseason, forfeiting several high draft picks in 2022. They are looking to contend quickly after adding offense, and need quality pitching just as quick.

As an added bonus, former Vanderbuilt rotation-mate, Jack Leiter, was the Rangers 1st Round Draft Pick last year. While Rocker was a shocker, it was actually quite the shrewd move by Texas. Especially given Rocker immediately signed a far below slot deal, the day after he was drafted.

Sure enough, the Rangers used their Rocker savings to sign high school pitcher, Brock Porter, to a contract worth $3.5 million over slot value for a 4th round pick. Porter was predicted to go in the middle of the first round, but fell all the way to 109th overall, due to contract demands. 

Good job Texas. Cant stand your team, but you had a draft plan and executed it perfectly.

Pick 4 - Termarr Johnson - Pirates

Termarr was familiar name, not only from pre-draft stuff I read, as he was one of the hits in my hobby box. From his high rankings, I didn't see him making it to the Twins pick at 8, but he was one I hoped would fall to their spot. He was attending the draft live, and was interviewed after the Pirates took him. Seemed like a very genuine guy, and came across as someone that will outwork his skill set. I think the Pirates got a good one.

Will they screw it up? 

Most likely.

Termarr Johnson was the only drafted player that also had a card in my 2020 Panini USA Baseball MLB Draft story. Only I didn't scan his card since he wasn't draft eligible in 2020. So there's no mention of him in that story...

Pick 5 - Elijah Green - Nationals

Green is your typical high school 5 tool center field prospect. They always go high in the draft. Always the player type that appeals to the Twins, although they've been after that player as a middle infielder in recent drafts. Green also signed quickly, and Washington hopes he'll move quickly.

Sure seems like the cards from my 2 boxes didn't yield much for cards of top picks.

Pick 6 - Jacob Berry - Marlins

Haven't seen a Jacob Berry card yet... Berry is a college third baseman, who is well advanced and could contribute in Miami fairly soon. His skill set would suggest strong defense, decent average and on-base skills, with slightly above average power. 

The 2022 MLB Draft was considered to have five top players, in Berry, Termarr, Druw and Jackson. The Chicago Cubs pick before Minnesota does. I bet they'll take the last one of the five...

Pick 7 - Cade Horton - Cubs

Nope!

No offense to Cade Horton, but this is kind of a head scratcher. If the Cubs wanted a college pitcher, there  are a few ranked higher than Horton. There's really nothing that stands out about Horton, and unless it's a money saving contract issue, it really doesn't make a lot of sense.

Watch Horton win 200 games as a Major Leaguer, and pitch the Cubs to another World Series victory...

Pick 8 - Brooks Lee - Twins

Lee was the guy I wanted the Twins to take going into the draft. I expected the other four to go before Minnesota picked, but if something unexpected happened, we had a chance at Lee. Thanks to the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs going off-script, we got him!

And I had his card!

Brooks will likely move to third base as he advances through the minors. The thing I'm most intrigued by is his plate discipline. More walks than strikeouts. Bringing that type of skill into your organization is always a great building block to start with. Lee projects to a high average, high on base percentage, 20-25 home run a season guy, with solid to above average defensive skills. With room to improve on those numbers. 

Ecstatic with this Twins pick!

Pick 9 - Gavin Cross - Royals

He's an outfielder... Drafted by Kansas City... That sums up everything I know about him.

Pick 10 - Gabriel Hughes - Rockies

The Rockies also dipped down in the pool of ranked players to draft Hughes. 

Apparently they see something in this guy they hope will work in the altitude of Denver. I'd have been happier with a pitcher that had better raw stuff, but maybe this will work? I certainly don't expect it to, since this decision comes from Rockies ownership/management that hasn't exactly shown anything but ineptitude since their inception.

Well that wraps up the first 10 picks of the 2022 MLB Draft. From this point on, I'm only going to cover the drafted players that I have cards of. Unless there's someone that warrants a specific mention. And there are a few...

But first...

Obviously, Panini cannot compete with Topps, when it comes to their prospect oriented Bowman sets. But I'll give credit to Panini for at least trying. Sure, they can't use Major or Minor League logos, but they can use college logos and uniforms. Kind of giving you an idea of what actual licensed Panini cards would look like. 

Due to a comparative collector apathy, Panini prospect product is available at a fraction of the price of Bowman. With usually the same names as autograph hits. The parallels are very similar, and if you get past the logos, Panini is a better value.

But I'll still buy both...

2021 Panini Prizm Draft

I've only bought two retail jumbo packs of this product, but they're very nice cards.

Finest, but with nobody you've ever heard of...

I didn't scan any base cards, but here's a couple of colored Prizm parallels.

Very similar to the different flavored Bowman Chrome Refractors.

And a couple prospect autographs. Both on sticker, but do you get an autograph in every pack of retail Bowman? Sure, these guys probably wont become MLB stars, but most of those Bowman guys wont either. 

I couldn't find a better shot of the Draft stage, from the parts of video I watched online. It was held outdoors, which was a cool look. Invited players and family sat on circular couches in front of the stage. Rows of hundreds of fans were seated behind them.

Back to what I was interested by, in the rest of Round 1 - Part 2

Pick 11 - Kevin Parada - Mets

Parada, an advanced college catcher, was widely speculated to go to the Twins at 8. And if the Cubs took Brooks Lee at 7, I don't doubt that Minnesota would have snapped Parada with their pick. He was the top rated catcher in the draft. Sure wish the Colorado Rockies -who ALWAYS need catching help- would have realized Parada was available, just one pick ago...

Pick 12 - Jace Jung - Tigers

The younger brother of Texas Rangers 2020 First Round Draft Pick, Josh Jung.

Hooray for nepotism!

Pick 15 - Dylan Lesko - Padres

At one point, Lesko was touted as a possible #1 overall pick. But he was out pitching in rain too long, and caught a nasty case of Tommy John Surgery. If he comes back healthy, the Padres got a steal.

Pick 17 - Justin Crawford - Phillies

Son for former Tampa Bay Devil Ray, Carl Crawford. Justin is a speedy toolsy 18 year old centerfield prospect. High risk/high reward pick. Justin could develop into the star the Phillies need to pair with Bryce Harper. Who, will be in his mid to late 30's before Crawford is ready to make an impact in Philadelphia. 

And he had to touch Manfred.

I bet it burns.

Pick 20 - Owen Murphy - Braves

Cool, I have his card. But it's the Braves, and I just don't care...

After Murphy was announced as the Braves pick, I had to get ready for a quick Target and dinner run. As I'm walking towards the door, Laura exclaims: "COOTY HERPIES?!?" 

Of course I have to stop and ask what? 

She points at the TV and says: "That guy just said Cooty Herpies!" 

Pick 22 - Cooper Hjerpe - Cardinals

I look and see the name, as one of the five analysts say his name. No, his name is Cooper Hjerpe. Pronounced: jer-PEE.

But from now on, he's Cooty Herpies!

And I'm off to Target.

Hooray...

Had I heard the comparisons to John Tudor before I left, I would have stuck around to watch. When I started this story later that night, after Laura went to bed, I found the video. The MLB Network folk showed video comparisons and talked up how similar Hjerpe is to Tudor, both in delivery and pitch arsenal. 

John Tudor (on the right, Hjerpe on the left) pitched 12 MLB seasons, from 1979-1990. 10 of those years were split evenly with the Cardinals and Red Sox, Tudor also pitched for the Pirates and Dodgers. He battled injuries for the last few years of his career, before retiring at 36. When he was healthy, Tudor put up some very good numbers. His career record of 117-72, with a 3.12 ERA, in 1797 innings, definitely stands out. Take away the injuries and he could've been a Hall of Famer. 

Because of the 1987 World Series, I remember Tudor as a Cardinal. His overall numbers against Minnesota don't look that good, but had stretches where he dominated a pretty decent Twins offense. 

Pick 28 - Drew Gilbert - Astros

Gilbert is a card I have, and he's now an Astro. The first First Round Draft Pick that Houston has been allowed to make since 2019. That was probably their most damaging penalty for the 2017 garbage can cheating scandal.

Pick 30 - Reggie Crawford - Giants

Crawford is another card I have, and he's now a Giant. Who intended to let him start his career as both a pitcher and first baseman. How far he goes doing both is yet to be determined...

And that's the end of the first round.

Up next is the Compensation Round, consisting of only two picks. Only one of which I cared about.

Pick 31 - Sterlin Thompson - Rockies 

This pick was awarded to Colorado as compensation for Trevor Story signing with the Boston Red Sox. Not trading Story for prospects last year, was widely considered a big mistake by Rockies management (myself included). All would depend on the draft pick they'd get for letting Story walk, turning out better than what they were offered in trade.

Of course, the misguided Rockies seemingly didn't believe that they weren't contenders in late July, 2021, and probably didn't even answer any calls on him...

The Cincinnati Reds took a 3rd baseman with their compensation pick. Awarded when Nick Castellanos signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Which completed MLB Network's 2022 Draft Tombstone.

But it's not time for Round 2 yet!

Next we have to go through Competitive Balance Round A!

This is supposed to grant additional draft picks to a random assortment of small market teams. But when you add another 10-12 picks between the first and second rounds, it kind of dilutes the talent. After Competitive Balance Round B and the second Compensation Round, by the time you start Round 3, it's almost Round 4...

Pick 33 - Dylan Beavers - Orioles

That Beaver's an Oriole!

Okay... Needs work...

Pick 37 - Justin Campbell - Guardians

This is the first card that I've noticed a Panini patch on the sleeve. Just below a rather cool looking tribute patch, honoring Tommy Lasorda.

Speaking of former managers...

After the first round is over, they pack Manfred back up and have a team representative announce the pick. This year, Colorado sent former manager Clint Hurdle. I was a big fan of Hurdle's run with the Rockies. Probably the most successful stretch in team history.

Hurdle then revealed Colorado's next pick, 38th overall...

Pick 38 - Jordan Beck - Rockies 

If his top grade is his throwing arm, perhaps the Rockies should try him on the mound?

Before finally moving on to Round 2, let's look at another Panini attempt to be Bowman.

2021 Leaf Draft is a complete set packaged as a Blaster. A great idea. No need to make packs for a random assortment of a small set. People are buying it for the autographs, might as well just give the complete base set away with it..

Stored in it's own mini-box!

The three (sticker) autographed cards are individually Top Loadered, which I appreciated. No Penny Sleeves, but whatever. I used my own and fixed these right up! I'm assuming the yellow one on the end is some sort of parallel. (Panini probably calls it gold.)

Gabriel Moreno is one of the Blue Jays top prospects, and made his Major League Debut earlier this year. His catcher's gear covers up any logos on it's own, so it almost looks licensed!

The set features a mix of top prospects and 2021 MLB Draft Picks. It's a good checklist, and while I doubt these cards themselves would ever become valuable, at this price, they're great additions to the new team/player albums. Whenever I get to sorting the year 2021's cards.

I've not restarted that project since I talked about Kevin Maas.

Two 2021 first round draft picks, and Ronald Jr.'s younger brother.

I talked about him not too long ago, so let's move on...

Jack Leiter, the 2nd overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, does not have a card in a Bowman set. I couldn't find any information on Leiter having an exclusive contract with Panini or anything. Assuming he debuts in 2022 Bowman Draft, a co-signed card of Leiter and Kumar Rocker is a no brainer. 

Make it happen Topps!

******

Round 2 began with the Los Angeles Dodgers drafting a catcher, Dalton Rushing, with the 40th pick. Due to exceeding the Luxury Tax for a certain amount of time, the Dodgers first pick was moved down 10 slots. 

Pick 41 - Cutter Coffey - Red Sox 

The Boston Red Sox had a compensation pick at #41, and took Cutter Coffey. Which made Laura laugh. 

Reminded me of another breakfast themed name, that once came in a Fairfield Repack...

Good old Joey Pankake's career went flat in 2017, when the Detroit Tigers released him. A 7th Round Draft Pick in 2014, Pankake made it to High A ball, showed some power, but couldn't get his average much above .200.

Pick 47 - Jackson Ferris - Cubs 

Ferris was a higher ranked pitcher than going 47th overall would suggest. Ferris was my highest drafted 2022 Panini USA Baseball Stars & Stripes autograph. And it makes me want to add some letters after the F...

Cool serial number though...

Pick 48 - Connor Prielipp - Twins

Minnesota capitalized on other teams bypassing Prielipp, to take the 25th best prospect at 48th overall. Before Tommy John Surgery in April, 2021, Prielipp was mentioned as possible top 10 pick in 2022. Fully recovered, Prielipp didn't pitch in 2022, opting out of the season to recover from surgery.

He did compete at the June 2022 MLB Draft Scouting Combine, in San Diego. Where Padres Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman talked him up. Well, we know Minnesota was listening, even if no one else was...

Our esteemed panel of MLB Network Draft Analyst Guys are set to toss it to Hurdle, who'll tell us which player the Rockies are taking with the 50th pick of the 2022 Draft.

Pick 50 - Jackson Cox - Rockies 

Hmmm... There's something in there...

Just haven't figured out the rest of the joke...

Pick 54 - Parker Messick - Guardians

Yeah... I got nothing...

Pick 55 - Logan Tanner - Reds

Power hitting college catcher.

You can never have enough catching depth.

Pick 66 - Carson Whisenhunt - Giants

Whisenhunt... That's a draft pick name I'll probably remember...

After the second round ended, we don't go right to the third round. That would be silly!

Where else are you going to put 2022 MLB Draft Competitive Balance Round B?

Duh!

The designated alumni representative for the Colorado Rockies, was former manager, Clint Hurdle. The Twins were granted an additional pick in the 2022 MLB Draft Competitive Balance Round B. So who did the Twins send as their alumni representative?

Former infielder, Trevor Plouffe! Didn't hit consistently like I'd hoped when the Twins drafted him, but he had some moments. Plouffe sure did look promising after his 2010 mid-season call-up...

Pick 68 - Tanner Schobel - Twins

Not too thrilled by this one. Not to knock Schobel, I'm sure he's an athletic kid that can play, but to reach on another shortstop, when the organization has other needs, doesn't make a lot of sense. Probably a pre-draft under-slot deal to allocate to Prielipp? Bigger splash later?

I mean if we're just gambling, we should have gone with a catcher.

Like...

We should have just given BM a chance...

No one else did...

Also, I'd like a Twins prospect to arrive pre-autographed!

The Seattle Mariners knew what I wanted a few picks later...

Pick 74 - Walter Ford - Mariners

I like that his signature kind of reads: Blah.

But I guess he's a pretty good prospect, high bonus demands dropped him to #74.

Mariners are stocking up on some decent prospects.

******

Speaking of a pile of some decent prospects...

2021 ProSet Baseball is pretty similar to 2021 Leaf Draft. Actually it's very similar to 2021 Leaf Draft. Other than having a different name and design, it is 2021 Leaf Draft. The exact same 50 players are featured in both sets.

Which are packaged in the same white cardboard box.

Some of the Top Prospects...

Some of the Top 2021 Draft Picks...

Not long after I bought these, I read that the green sets are short printed, and the standard base cards have orange borders. Doubt that registers as any degree above meaningless.

So I guess the base cards look like the three autographs. 

Which were also Top Loadered.

Also without penny sleeves.

******

Back to the draft with Round 3. But I'm only covering drafted players I have cards or screen captures of. The cards are because they came from one of the two boxes. Screen captures were only if there was a non-carded player that I was interested in talking about.

Round 3 - Nate Savino - Diamondbacks

Like Nate Savino.

I have his card!

Round 3 - Carson Palmquist - Rockies

Or Carson Palmquist. I made this screen capture! Only because he was a Rockies draft pick. Colorado always needs pitching, so it's a good idea to take any decent available college arm, once the better hitters are gone.

The Twins did not have a pick in the third round. It was surrendered as a penalty for signing free agent shortstop, Carlos Correa. This forfeiture would have been a higher pick, had the 2021 Minnesota Twins been a better team. 

So their next pick was in the 4th round.

Round 4 - Andrew Morris - Twins

And it was their turn to draft a college pitcher. I hope he doesn't accidentally bite his tongue off.

Round 4 - Jordan Sprinkle - White Sox

His name is Jordan Sprinkle.

Of course I'm following his career!

Round 5 - Ben Ross - Twins

Another shortstop prospect to the Twins in the 5th round.

Round 5 - Sean McLain - Dodgers

After McLain went to the Dodgers, I didn't have another 2022 Panini USA Baseball Stars & Stripes card of a drafted player, until the 9th round. Rounds 3-20 were only shown on MLB.com. I went back after the fact to find the screen captures I needed. I may be an absolute baseball dork, but even I'm not going to watch rounds 3-20 online.

Highlights later is a different story...

Round 9 - Devereaux Harrison - Blue Jays

I have a pre-Blue Jays card...

Round 9 - Christopher Villaman - Rays

And a Pre-Rays card...

Round 9 - Cory Lewis - Twins

But I did not get a card of the Twins’ 9th Round Draft Pick, Cory Lewis. Lewis is notable for one thing that I find extremely intriguing… He throws in the low 90’s and has the usual assortment of secondary pitches. But he also throws a decent knuckleball at around 80 mph. He’s thrown it in college games for UCSB, but it’s something he’s been toying with for about 10 years, and has gotten fairly good at tossing them to surprise batters. Most pitchers don’t even start trying to throw a knuckleball until a last ditch effort to save their careers. Lewis has been throwing it since before he was a teenager. If his pitch arsenal doesn’t get him to the major leagues, he’s got a leg up on trying to become a knuckleball pitcher. The major leagues hasn’t seen a full time knuckleball pitcher since R.A. Dickey retired about 6 years ago.

Lewis will be someone to watch.

Round 11 - Ryan Clifford - Astros

Moving onto the 11th round, the Astros took Clifford with hopes they can pay him enough to not go to college.

Round 12 - Cole Kirschsieper - Marlins

The fish reeled in a Kirschsieper with their 12th round pick.

I have his card!

Round 12 - Jackson Fristoe - Yankees

Another 12th round pick with a card I have, goes to the Yankees.

He’s expected to sign with New York, but hasn’t yet.

Round 20 - Matthew Wyatt - Yankees

Moving up to the 20th and final round of the 2022 MLB Draft, I have another pre-Yankees card…

Round 20 - Ethan Long - Giants

Long has the distinction of being the last pick of the final round of the 2022 MLB Draft. So it’s pretty cool that I had his card before the draft. (Note, I did not have any Jackson Holliday cards, so I cannot display bookends.) A slugging college third baseman, I’m kind of surprised Long didn’t go sooner.

If you ask me, he’s no worse than a 19th round draft pick...

So there you go. That’s my summary of the 2022 MLB Draft. 

Now we wait…

******

Perhaps in another 6-10 months, I’ll be finding all sorts of cheap Panini autographs of some these players? Of course there will be Bowman, but those won’t be cheap...

Not too long ago, I decided that I needed a bulk infusion of insanely sparkly and shiny autographs of 2021 draft picks and prospects. Luckily Panini make a product that is this, and only this!

2021 Leaf Flash Baseball is a 6 card pack/box, where all 6 cards are autographed, refractory and great looking. Unlicensed so not as many people care about it, but a chance to get some great looking cards of the newest Top Prospects. At a price point of roughly $20/card, they aren’t cheap. But there have been similar Bowman products, with only 3 autographed cards for almost 3 times this price.

Yeah, I’ll do this instead...

Colson Montgomery was the 22nd overall pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2021. Currently in High A Winston-Salem, Montgomery has put up a composite .317 / .422 / .482 slash line, in 2022. Montgomery’s autographed Bowman cards go for more than I paid for this box, which had two of his autographs inside! The base card on the left is numbered 61/75, and the Flash Forward “insert” is numbered 3/99. 

So that’s cool...

Cool like two Flash of Brilliance “inserts”!

Frank Mozzicato is numbered 15/50, while Grayson Rodriguez is the only card I got in the box that wasn’t serial numbered.

Kevin Alcantara is pictured as an unlicensed Yankee, but was involved in the Anthony Rizzo trade after signing this card, and is now an unlicensed Chicago Cub. His serial numbering is a cool 1/15.

But that’s not the best card of the box...

That would be Ty Madden, the Detroit Tigers second pick of the 2021 draft, 32nd overall. Madden has pitched well at High A West Michigan, of the Midwest League. Through 17 starts in 2022, Madden has gone 4-4 with a 2.92 ERA in 77 innings. Decent strikeout to walk ratio, and stingy with allowing base hits. With the Tigers need for anyone without an injured arm to throw a ball for them, Madden may get an opportunity by mid-2023.

And it’s a 1 of 1!

******

Undrafted Panini

These guys already did a week or so ago, so I’m not going to bother recapping the Draft. I’ve said more than enough about it already. 

But what about the players who’s name weren’t called?

Looking way back to when I was talking about Termarr Johnson, I showed his 2020 Panini USA Stars & Stripes card. Panini features players from their 15 & Under teams. Players that aren’t eligible to even be drafted this year.

Well, Riley Stanford is a little bit older, but he did not get drafted, despite being highly acclaimed. Stanford has a verbal commitment to Georgia Tech, and that looks like that’s where he’ll be going.

I just like the looks of this card.

Two young kids that won’t be drafted for a couple of more years.

Unknownly named foil parallels of two undrafted players.

Hobby Longevity foil parallel of another undrafted player.

Retail Longevity foil parallel of another undrafted player.

Jersey chunk of another undrafted player.

But enough of that unlicensed Panini stuff.

****** 

I have a couple of notes from the baseball card set I’ve liked more than anything else that’s come out in years, 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary. While out doing the dreaded weekend shopping, I found a retail Mega Box of it, sitting alone amongst the Panini NFL and NBA Chronicles Draft stuff that no one’s been buying. Gasping slightly at the $55 price tag for 9 packs of 4 cards each, but what the hell... 

I need more base cards!

Which I got!

And a Black/Gold 70th Anniversary Refractor, numbered 5/10!

Those are some insane looking eyes on Mr. Cody…

After sorting everything I had, I was given a bunch more that my mom had bought (she also loves this product) and didn’t want. She gave me nearly 200 cards I didn’t have for the set.

And after filing all of these into what I already had...

Now I’m only 145 cards away from completing the entire set!

And I'm going to bed!