Sometimes These Actually Pan Out

2011 Bowman Chrome Starling Marte Auto

It is always nice when you buy one of these Chrome autos and the guy actually turns out to be a decent player. Thankfully as a Pirate collector we haven't had many high $ guys out of the gate. Right now only Austin Meadows carried a big price tag from day one. Guys like Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow had lulls where you could buy them on the cheap.

The cool thing about Marte is that he has found ways to make himself a little better every year he has been in the big leagues.  Last year he stole more bases and actually learned how to take a walk every once in a while.  That led to his best season as a Pirate.  If he can manage more of a power stroke then he could put himself into superstar territory.  

Do you guys actively chase these? I kind of put myself in the middle category.  The desire to add these is always there, but I use extreme patience.  Obviously this style can bite you in the ass for the guys that turn themselves into superstars right away, but for the most part it has worked out for me. I don't really have a story where I got burned paying $50 for an auto and the guy peters out in AA. 

Thanks for reading.

Novacain

The Pirates rotation at the start of the season.

1. Gerrit Cole
2. Francisco Liriano
3. Jon Niese
4. Jeff Locke
5. Juan Nicasio

The Pirates rotation after the trade deadline.

1. Gerrit Cole
2. Jameson Taillon
3. Chad Kuhl
4. Ivan Nova
5. Ryan Vogelsong.

I'll give the Pirates credit, it takes some nerve to change 80% of your rotation in the middle of the season. Thankfully, the Pirates were stocked with AAA pitchers and traded for Ivan Nova to help eat some innings for the younger guys. Nova will likely be gone at the end of the year via free agency, but the Pirates are probably pretty happy with the results from the trade. 

About 30 minutes ago Nova just pitched his 4th complete game of his career! Interesting side note is that the catchers for those first 3 were Chris Stewart who is currently with the Pirates.  Francisco Cervelli caught todays game, but also played with Nova during his Yankees tenure. The Pirates like former Yankees. 

2011 Bowman Chrome Ivan Nova Magenta Printing Plate

Right after the Pirates traded for Nova I started looking for a card to add.  This plate popped up with a BIN price of $10. That seemed pretty decent so I purchased it. 

With the slew of AAA ready arms I don't suspect the Pirates will make a play to keep Nova.  Free agent pitchers are getting crazy amounts of money on the open market. Nova has age on his side so some team might pay to get the 2013 version of Nova. I don't think I would want the Pirates to gamble on that. 

Thanks for reading!