Player Focus: Corey Hart

The Brewers have been a pleasant surprise this season. Slugger Prince Fielder was hot in the hobby before the break, and Ryan Braun has been on fire since June. These two young stars have overshadowed the emergence of another possible up-and-comer, Corey Hart. Hart started the season batting 7th in the Brewers' line-up, and moved up to the lead-off spot full-time in June, replacing Rickie Weeks. Hart solidified his position there by hitting .336 with 9 HR, 21 RBI & 10 SB that month. He cooled considerably in July, batting .200 with 6 HR, 13 RBI & 0 SB, but seems to be rebounding so far in August (on 8/2 vs. the Mets, he went 3 for 5 with 2 HR & 3 RBI).

Hart's rookie cards from '02 are still affordable, and should have decent growth potential. He's a 6'6" lead-off hitter that can hit home runs, steal bases, and hit for average. Also, he's playing for a team that has some of the hottest young hitters in the league. His only rookies that I've seen come from the 02 Bowman Draft & Bowman Chrome Draft sets. If anyone else has seen any other MLB rookies of his, please let me know & I'll post them up in the comments section. Thanks!