Collecting Cleveland Indians Topps team sets from 1952-present, as well as post-war minor and major league autographs.
Bryan Lavastida (2018, 15th round) is one of my favorite prospects in the Cleveland system. This past season he hit .289/.380/.456 with 9 HR between across three levels, which included 19 at-bats in AAA. The Guards thought enough of his season to add him to the 40-man last month. Good[…]
Josh Tomlin was Cleveland’s 19th round pick in 2006 draft. He has had a pretty good career, spending 12-seasons in the big leagues with Cleveland and Atlanta. Excellent control, less excellent stuff, Tomlin is a classic 4th or 5th starter who will shine on occassion. His biggest strength has always[…]
Aaron Cunningham was quite a prospect while in the minors. He was one of the Top 10 prospects of both White Sox (#7 in 2007), and Diamondbacks (#7 in 2008), and in 2009 was rated the 55th best prospect in baseball. If its any gauge, he was part of the[…]
This Eephus League Baseball scorebook was signed by Sean Doolittle in 2012, while he was with the Athletics and they were visiting Cleveland for a three-game weekend series. Doolittle has had a great career. Since making the majors in 2012, he has had four seasons of at least 22 saves,[…]
Outfielder Lew Ford. Back in 2004, filling in for an injured Torii Hunter, Ford hit .299/.381/.446 with 15 HR for the Twins. He finished 24th in MVP voting. It was his second season in the majors, and it seemed like the Minnesota had found a hidden gem in the 27-year[…]
OF Adam Engel was drafted by the White Sox in the 19th round of the 2013 draft out of Louisville. From 2014-2017 he ranked one of the White Sox Top 25 prospects, topping out at #10 coming into the 2017 season. He made the majors in 2017, and has filled[…]
From 2013-2018, OF Dylan Cozens was one of the Phillies Top 30 prospects–ranking as high as #10 following the 2017 season. I was at the 2016 Eastern League All-Star game and people were falling over themselves for his autograph. It was so bad that I never got him, and decided to not even go back the next day.
SP Zac Gallen went 4-10 this season with the Diamondbacks. That might not look great, but his numbers were actually not that bad.
Catcher Gerald Laird spent 13 seasons in the major leagues (2003-2015) with almost a half dozen teams. He was never really a full time starter, and only got into 120 or more games twice in his career. He retired following the 2015 season with a career line of .243/.305/.353 and[…]