West Virginia Power
MiLB Madness: Five baseball cards foodies & fans can devour
Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card and here are five example of some oddities in this latest MiLB Madness series item.
BATTING LEAD-OFF ...
The Card: Double Balonironi Burger 2021 Choice West Virginia Power #30
The Buzz On This One: This edition of the series is all about food and this one is arguably a Rookie Card -- though MiLB cards don't really have RCs -- for a burger apparently a big enough deal that it made the team's annual card set. Why? Well, it's probably not tied to the set sponsor -- Thomas Health hospitals -- but this ballpark "belly buster" seems like it might be an All-Star down on the farm -- check out this video. (Oh, and note the typo on the card front ... an uncorrected error, I think.) I've seen my fair share of cardboard in my day but other than one insert set done at the MLB level a few years ago I'm not sure if I have seen specific food items get their own card before in a MiLB set where, as the point of this series goes, you can see a little bit of everything. Given how much ballpark emphasis there is about food, I'm a bit surprised there hasn't been more. The ingredients are on the back, the fact that it's two pounds is interesting and it's ironic they mask the calorie content. Perhaps the next card will have something to say about that.Keep reading for four more examples of weird baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.
Carding Baseball America's MLB Prospects Hot Sheet (July 29)
Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.
1. Brailyn Marquez, LHP, Cubs — Low-A South Bend Cubs
Baseball America’s highlight line: “The unquestioned best pitching prospect in the Cubs’ system, Marquez put together his best start as a pro on July 25. The lefthander set a career-high with 14 strikeouts, doing so in part with a fastball that touched as high as 101 mph. The start continued a stellar July in which Marquez has whiffed 33 batters in 21.1 innings. He’s also allowed just one home run since May 1."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only MiLB team set cards
First Chrome auto: None yet
One auto to consider: None yet
Buzz’s card take: This 20-year-old is in his fourth season of MiLB ball and his total numbers aren't overwhelming -- 11-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 253 strikeouts in 224 innings. It's this season that has that Ks ratio up so that's a good sign but he's got nothing but MiLB team set cards to chase right now. He should be one to watch once he gets some prospect cardboard in packs but this feels like a long-term watch since he's still in A-ball.Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...
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