Young Pitchers on the Move

There are so many bright pitching prospects right now, breaking into the majors. Those whose cards are already on the move are guys like Justin Verlander (Det), Jered Weaver (LAA), Cole Hamels (Phi), Francisco Liriano (Min) & Scott Kazmir (Tam). They're all in their early 20's and pitching very well for their respective teams. Only problem (for me at least) is that their RC cards are already becoming quite an investment ($75 to $100+ for their top Ref or Auto RCs).

Some of the pitchers in this age group that I think could become good investments are Ian Snell (Pit), Paul Maholm (Pit), Zach Duke (Pit), Ricky Nolasco (Fla), Mike O'Conner (Was), Elizardo Ramirez (Cin) & Ervin Santana (LAA). Like the list of players in the 1st paragraph, these guys are young and starting for their respective teams. They've all had highs & lows in their short careers. All of their key RC's (except maybe Duke) can be had for a fraction of those players listed previously. It'll be interesting to see which of them will be able to get it together and join the ranks of other star pitchers. We also can't forget about currently slumping Dontrelle Willis. Gotta remember he's only 24 y.o. and he's already got 497 K's in 679 IP. Only 1 year older than Verlander (54 K's in 89 IP) but alot further along in his career already.

400-400 Man

The one active player that could very likely become a 400 HR - 400 SB career player is 30 y.o. Alfonso Soriano. The only other player EVER to do this is Barry Bonds (700+HR-500+SB). Although he may never join the 500 HR or 3000 Hit clubs, the 400-400 club is even more exclusive, with only one member so far! Guys like Vlad Guerrero & Andruw Jones who could've possibly done it have really seen a tapering off in their SB's in recent years. Soriano has 181 HR-182 SB so far. His Finest Gold Ref RC #'d to 100 books for $80. Sounds like a relative deal compared to his Bowman Chrome Intl Ref RC, also #'d to 100, booking for $150, his regular BC Ref RC (not numbered) booking for $100, and his UD Ultimate Victory Parallel RC #'d to 100 booking for $150.

Young Veteran Pitchers with Long Term Potential

A few of the pitchers that I think have long term investment potential are C.C. Sabathia (Cle - Age 25), Carlos Zambrano (Chi - Age 25), Jeremy Bonderman (Det - Age 23). These young pitchers started their MLB careers fairly early and are in the starting rotations for their respective teams. Sabathia, who's showing alot of dominance this season, is only 25 and already has 802 K's in 1020 IP (Maddux had 738 K's after his first 1174 IP). Zambrano is even better with 740 K's in his first 839 IP, and Bonderman has 479 K's in 605 IP.

The biggest problem with pitchers is questionable longevity due to injuries. Look at guys like Mark Prior & Kerry Wood. These guys could be the top pitchers in the majors, if they were consistently healthy. Glad to see Wood back in the rotation. I'm still rooting for Prior to join him soon!