I was a fan of Jeremy Sowers while he was pitching at Vanderbilt, and was excited when Cleveland drafted him with the 6th overall pick of the 2004 draft.
I got this autograph TTM right after it came out, and was happy to get it. These 1952 cards don’t always look great signed since they tend to have great images that mute the autograph, but this one worked out well enough.
Sowers quickly became one of the organization’s top prospects and was projected as a top of the rotation starter. After only two seasons in the minors, Sowers made his major league debut in 2006. He more than held his own, going 7-4 with a 126 ERA+ over 88.1 innings.
But baseball is hard, and the league adapted quickly. Over the next three seasons, he would struggle at the big league level and bounce between Cleveland and Columbus. He was granted free agency following the 2011 season, and that was the end of his career. It was a bummer.