[KIDD / CARMELO COLLECTOR]

Hi Guys, I really don't know much about the prospecting game but I know a lot of you on here really know your stuff. I was wondering what you thought about these 4 recent pulls of mine, Should I sell them or should I hold them. If you think that there is potential in any of these for me to hold please let me know. If you think that I am better off just putting them on the bay please let me know that as well. I respect and appreciate your opinions. Thanks in advance !!!

[briguy0216]

Hagadone had TJ surgery before the year

[KIDD / CARMELO COLLECTOR]

do you think I should get rid of it then? or should I hold onto it and hop he does something in the future?

[The BGS & PSA9 Collector, ThoseBackPages]

Hold all 4.

Safe bet for when you should sell is.........when you see them on ESPN

[Caniacforever]

I'll help you out a little to inform you about how things on the board work. I'm not saying that I agree with it totally, but you'll find that these things are true most every time.

1. People are usually not going to give you advice about prospecting. The reason for this is that what is said on these boards has a way of finding its way to ebay in some form or fashion. If a highly successful prospector backs a player then people follow in line like sheep without doing their own research on a player.

2. Additionally, the opposite is also true. People that think a player is over priced will usually not want to tell on the forums because they're trying to unload some of his cards. Word of mouth has a way of influencing prices and everybody here that collects a particular player knows it. I have been watching a player for a few months and just recently there has been a spike in his demand via board popularity to the extent that i've had to get out of buying him all together. I don't like it and not many here do.


As for your actual topic i'll give you some advice since you're fairly new here.

1. Nick Hagadone - That would be an obvious hold there. When a player gets hurt with a season ending injury you never want to move them because they're very "out of sight - out of mind", at the moment. You're not going to be able to sell lower than you would be selling right now if you got out of him. What you need to do is try to scout the player a little and find information on him. I would say that picking up the Baseball America's Prospect Handbook for 2008 would be your best start. Hagadone is a pitcher for a large market team and a team that sells very well when they have success. If he comes back from injury and puts a few good starts together you stand to double your profit from if you sold right now. However, there is also the threat that Boston moves him to the bullpen which is certain death for pitching prospects in terms of making any fiscal gain from them. You're going to have to do some research to find out what they plan to do with him. Since he isn't one of my guys I have no idea. However, it's worth noting that he is a 23 year old prospect that was slated to be pitching in the low minors. Your first job would be to try to project what the Red Sox are going to do with him when he returns to health.

2. Cyle Hankerd - Since he's not really an awesome prospect I would assume that this was probably a pack pull. I would say hold on to it on the off chance that he does something. You probably wouldn't get $10 for it on ebay and for that price why would you even move it unless you really are working on a wire thin budget? He's having a hard time adjusting to AA pitching and he's an older prospect as well.

3. Travis d'Arnaud - Travis is a defensive catcher that has questions surrounding his bat. Again you're going to have to do some leg work here to determine if this is a player you have faith in or not. Usually catchers aren't very high in demand and the chance that this player moves from catcher to a more marketable position is very low due to his main attribute being his defense. However, he is starting well in short season ball and there is a chance he could end up being a decent hitter. For a prep player it's hard to tell what you're getting when you draft them. He could end up being a better hitter than he is being given credit for. That is the reason for his fairly modest selling price being better than what you usually see for defensive players. Take a look at some tape of his swing and keep an eye on his numbers. If you think he has power potential in particular then hold onto him. It only takes two or three hot months in the low minors for a player to triple or quadruple their prices. Prep position players are usually good holds unless they're drawing ungodly numbers on the release date.

4. Cory Rasmus - This is probably your hardest choice of the bunch. It would be for me. Rasmus has electric stuff but he also has only pitched 7 innings since 2006. You're going to need to take notice of his delivery and his mechanics to determine if you think he can stick as a starter and what that means for his durability. He's going to be playing in short season this year and it seems to me that he is already throwing a few innings in a relief capacity. Is that for good or is that for temporary until he gets his command back from missing so much time? That is what you've got to find out about him. If you would rather invest in another prospect and you have enough in the card to break even on it then move it out. If you think he has the ability to bounce back and deliver on the promise he had when he was drafted then hold onto it. He's still young enough to come back strong but the injury concerns have to be taken into account.

[thenextlevel42]

Very well said caniac.

[KIDD / CARMELO COLLECTOR]

Caniac, Thank you very much for the explanation. What you said makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the help !!!

[xdanx]

please PM if the hankerd is FT thaks !

[justinmandawg]

I'd buy cyle's golds all day long for 10.00