[chevy man 22]

Have a ton of prospect and rookie cards from 2009 on up and need to start clearing space. So my question is is there a time frame in which a player hasn't made the big leagues or at least the AAA level that one should assume they never will ?

To me with the way teams fast track players through the system these days I think the limit is probably 4 yrs. max. But I wanted to get others opinions also.

[petillo64]

I have a similar issue where I just stash all my base prospect cards that are not well-hyped at the moment. I figure it would be fun to go through a few years down the road and find a few gems. I wait until about 5 years, and if there is still no buzz around them or they are stinking it up in the minors I'll use them as kindling or give them away. You have to be careful though, a high school kid who was just drafted, has a long road to the majors. I wouldn't just put a year count on it.

[Hofcollector]

I'm at the 5 year mark. If from the time their face is plastered on a card, 5 years has passed and you still dont know who he is, it's never going to happen for him. If for some strange reason it does, unless he was drafted right out of high school, he's going to be in his late 20's and have a much shorter career. So his collectability is going to be limited anyway.

[jeremy7269]

I think the answer depends on how much the financial aspect goes into your prospecting.

Personally, I would sell after three years. This would help recoup some of the money. Five years seems a little too long in my opinion. A buyer would spend more on a 2012 Bowman Chrome card versus a 2010.

[StedmanRecon]

Awesome question that I have been pondering the last couple of weeks. While I am still relatively new getting back into the hobby, my interests for some reason have naturally drifted towards prospects and younger players.

When I first got on here a year or so ago, someone passed along some guidance in the form of a warning about prospects and young players. While I see the danger there (in card value and how it can disappear quickly), I still think it is a pretty neat part of the hobby.

I came up with my own opinion that I should give guys 5 years to get out and stay out of AAA ball (more or less depending on what might be going on with the players and teams). If they aren't a household name, but at least semi recognizable by that time, I figured I would give them some more time.

I'm really glad to see that at least a couple of others on here (especially two names that I have come to respect and watch in the forums) had the same outlook of about 5 years.

[yankees_pride]

I sell as soon as I can.
Money will always trump cards. It's a hobby
So far who can you name as a prospect that has brought great money?
Trout doesn't count cause he had rookie cards that sell well
And harper and Stras were already hyped.
I can't think of any prospect in the last 5 years that has made a huge jump in value

But I also got burnt twice on prospects and choose only to go after veterans and players that have some tenure.

[JRMdawg311]

As soon as they get traded from my team(s)... Addison Russell, Billy Mckinney, Edwin Escobar. Ha ha, at least that's how I roll. I would think in 4 years they should be in MLB but I would analyze it on a case by case basis mostly centering on the age of the prospect and their ceiling. If he was drafted straight out of high school or younger (such as in the cases of Caribbean players) I might wait a little longer. One case I can think of at the moment is Bubba Starling, drafted #5 overall in 2011. We're just about to hit 4 years in the minors but he's still young (22) with a supposed very high ceiling. If I sold his Bowman chrome auto in 2011 I could have received $100+ if I sold him right now maybe $20. In any case the goal is to sell when hype is at the greatest. Here's to hoping he puts it together this year!

[StedmanRecon]

Hmmm... I really gotta start looking into this whole making money side of the hobby lol. I've just been basically enjoying trying to build some sets and collect a few specific players lol. I figure I've got a good bit more to learn before trying to dive into the money part of it all, though lol.

[tdog4468]

I sold or traded most of my trout after the 2013 season when his value plateaued, figuring a ROY and MVP run has driven his values as far as the market was moving at that time. Only to have them double over the course of this season. So the time to get out is always a guess. I have always used the age 25 cut off, if he is not in the majors by 25 move on to the next player. Exceptions for players I enjoy watching or maybe of a favorite team.

[Hofcollector]

I sold or traded most of my trout after the 2013 season when his value plateaued, figuring a ROY and MVP run has driven his values as far as the market was moving at that time. Only to have them double over the course of this season. So the time to get out is always a guess. I have always used the age 25 cut off, if he is not in the majors by 25 move on to the next player. Exceptions for players I enjoy watching or maybe of a favorite team.

Oh man... that sucks. I looked at that the exact opposite. So much done so young, sky was the limit.

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Hmmm... I really gotta start looking into this whole making money side of the hobby lol. I've just been basically enjoying trying to build some sets and collect a few specific players lol. I figure I've got a good bit more to learn before trying to dive into the money part of it all, though lol.

If you can manage to guess correctly or make some smart moves, you can start to turn a profit and really step up your collection. It's pretty fun when you're able to add to your collection and not have it cost you anything or far less money, because you've studied the players your trading for and they've gone up in value.