A New Status

2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition /75 Josh Harrison

Josh Harrison is one of those rare everyday players that doesn't have a ton of prospect oriented cards to chase. In today's collecting environment I find that refreshing. 2008 Donruss Elite was pretty much it for Harrison until his breakout 2014 season. I've accumulated several different versions over the years with this /75 being the most recent. 

It started to look like the deal the Pirates gave Harrison might go south, but he has rebounded nicely this season.  If the Buccos become sellers in the coming weeks it wouldn't surprise me if the Pirates look to shop Harrison to get out of a 10.5 million commitment next season.  The contract also has team options for 2019 and 2020 so it would give the acquiring team some flexibility. 

Hope everyone has a fun (almost) holiday weekend. 

Thanks for reading. 

Wildcat

2008 Donruss Elite Mark Melancon Auto /250

I kind of figured by now that Melancon would have more in the way of high end cardboard, but other than a few parallels it is slim pickings. Now a two time All Star, Melancon has continued the nice stretch of the Pirates turning around broken arms. 

The Pirates acquired Melancon when they dealt Joel Hanrahan to Boston.  The deal has actually worked out for both teams, but probably not in the way the Red Sox imagined. Hanrahan would only work a handful of games for the Sox, but in the trade the Sox also received Brock Holt who has turned into a high end utility player. Melancon hit the ground running with the Pirates as the 8th inning guy and has been closing since Jason Grill was dealt away last summer. 

Melancon is unique in the sense he doesn't fall in the normal late inning stereotype of being a hard thrower. Instead, he relies on a cutter to induce weak contact. This style can cause a little more nervousness to the casual fan since he is not a strike out pitcher, but if you want to beat him you have to string together several hits in a row. He rarely gives up homeruns. 

I have accumulated a few of these college cards over the years. You have to be careful with some because some of the autos can either be too light or faded. 

Thanks for reading!

Some Needles in a Haystack

Pirate shortstop Jordy Mercer doesn't have much in way of autographs or relics.  In terms of recent sets, Panini's Americas Pastime was the only one to feature Mercer.  Recently on eBay I was searching for some Mercer cards in came across a nice lot of older issued Mercers.  Less than $15 later it was at more doorstep.

2008 Upper Deck Series 2 Patch Auto /99

 2008 Upper Deck Series 2 Red Ink Auto /50

 2008 Donruss Elite Auto /483

2008 Donruss Elite Aspirates Auto /75

I guess he was trying to be different and printed his name on the patch auto.  Would have been nice if he would have signed it normally, but either way it is a nice card. I'm a big fan of college cards so I'm partial to the Aspirations die cut featuring Jordy in his Oklahoma State Cowboy uniform.  

In terms of Jordy as a player I've been pleased with his development.  I didn't think he could stick at short, but he has turned himself into a league average shortstop.  If not for a terrible April and May, Jordy could have produced some big numbers. Thankfully management stuck with him and he went on to produce almost a 3 WAR season.  Not bad considering he was close to losing his starting job.  

Thanks for reading!