One-Sheet Collections: Baseball’s No. 1 Prospects of the 2000s
For many, nostalgia remains the driving force behind baseball card collecting, and that’s how we arrived at the idea of One-Sheet Collections.
It’s a simple concept with infinite possibilities.
Take a single nine-pocket sheet and a reasonable $100 budget, and build a nine-card collection with a unifying theme.
Recently, we looked back at the No. 1 overall prospects of the 1990s. This time around, we move forward a decade to the 2000s.
Looking back at the Top 100 prospect lists from Baseball America during the 2000s, there were nine different players who saw their name penciled into the No. 1 overall prospect spot during the decade, with one guy earning that honor twice.
It’s a mixed bag of future stars, epic busts and solid MLB performers who had productive careers despite never living up to lofty expectations.
In this week’s collection, we’ve highlighted one rookie card for each of the nine players who were baseball’s top prospect at one point during the 2000s.
Enjoy!
Rick Ankiel (2000)
1999 Fleer Tradition Update #U1 Rick Ankiel RC ($8)
Buy on:
A can’t miss left-hander who was poised to lead the St. Louis Cardinals rotation for the next decade, Ankiel went 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 175 innings in 2000 to finish second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
However, he imploded that postseason with 11 walks and nine wild pitches in four innings of work, and after failing to recapture his command he shifted to the outfield. That move helped him hang around for 11 MLB seasons, and he slugged 25 home runs in 2008 as the Cardinals starting center fielder.
Josh Hamilton (2001)
1999 Topps Chrome Traded #T66 Josh Hamilton RC ($12)
Buy on:
It was a long, winding road to MLB success for Hamilton as he battled addiction early in his professional career and never reached the majors during his time in Tampa Bay.
He finally broke through with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007 and enjoyed a brief superstar peak with the Texas Rangers after he was traded for Edinson Volquez. He had three 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in Texas and won AL MVP honors in 2010 before failing to live up to a five-year, $125 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
Josh Beckett (2002)
1999 Ultimate Victory #138 Josh Beckett SP RC ($15)
Buy on:
One of the best postseason pitchers of his generation, Beckett lived up to the hype that came with being a hard-throwing Texas high schooler expected to follow in the footsteps of Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood and others before him.
He won World Series MVP honors in 2003 when he threw a five-hit shutout against the New York Yankees in Game 6 to clinch a title for the Marlins, and he had a 3.07 ERA in 93.2 career playoff innings with three October shutouts.
Mark Teixeira (2003)
2001 Donruss Rookies #R91 Mark Teixeira RC ($10)
Buy on:
After earning the No. 1 prospect rank in 2003, Texiera broke camp with a spot on the Texas Rangers roster and he went on to hit .259/.331/.480 with 26 home runs and 84 RBI in his debut.
From there, he quickly developed into one of the game’s most productive sluggers, and in 14 MLB seasons he launched 409 home runs. Despite having 15 different Rookie Cards in his database, Teixeira does not have a Bowman, Topps or Upper Deck flagship rookie.
Joe Mauer (2004, 2005)
2002 Topps #622 Joe Mauer RC ($12)
Buy on:
With three batting titles, an AL MVP award, and a career .306/.388/.439 batting line in 15 MLB seasons, Mauer could be headed for the Hall of Fame as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball history.
The Twins took the St. Paul native with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft, passing on vaunted USC right-hander Mark Prior in the process, and it proved to be the right decision as he spent much of his career as the face of the franchise while earning six All-Star selections.
Delmon Young (2006)
2003 Upper Deck #562 Delmon Young RC ($3)
Buy on:
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 draft, Young looked poised to deliver on his draft position when he hit .315/.354/.527 with 26 doubles, 26 home runs, 99 RBI and 32 steals in 136 games as a 19-year-old between Double-A and Triple-A.
He played 10 MLB seasons, earning some down-ballot MVP support in 2010 when he set career highs in doubles (46), home runs (21) and RBI (112), but he wrapped up his career with just 3.2 WAR in 1,118 games.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (2007)
2007 Bowman #210 Daisuke Matsuzaka RC ($5)
Buy on:
After eight seasons with the Seibu Lions in the Japanese League, Matsuzaka joined the Boston Red Sox on a six-year, $52 million contract after paying a staggering $51.1 million posting fee to win negotiating rights.
He went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA in 32 starts as a rookie in 2007, then took a significant step forward the following year when he was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 167.2 innings. That proved to be his peak, as he topped 150 innings just once more in eight MLB seasons before returning to Japan.
Jay Bruce (2008)
2005 Topps Update #325 Jay Bruce DP RC ($8)
Buy on:
Bruce just recently hung up his spikes after winning a spot on the New York Yankees Opening Day roster, wrapping up a 14-year career that saw him post a 108 OPS+ with 319 home runs and 20.0 WAR.
He was a three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger winner, and he hit one of the most memorable home runs in recent Cincinnati Reds history when he hit a walk-off winner to clinch the NL Central title on Sept. 28, 2010.
Matt Wieters (2009)
2009 Upper Deck Icons #125 Matt Wieters RC ($6)
Buy on:
One of the best collegiate catching prospects ever coming out of Georgia Tech, Wieters was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2007 draft. He hit .355/.454/.600 with 22 doubles, 27 home runs and 91 RBI in 130 games between High-A and Double-A in 2008 to climb to the top of prospect lists entering 2009.
He debuted in 2009 and took over as Baltimore’s everyday catcher the following year. A four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, he was one of the better catchers of the 2010s, though he ultimately fell short of expectations due in part to injuries.
Collection Total: $79.00
DO YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORTH OF 1966 MICKEY MANTLE, 1967. WILLIE MAYS, ROBERTO CLEMENTE TOPPS 400 CARD, AND 1957 TED WILLIAMS. THANK YOU SO MUCH