New Yankees on the Farm

The 2016 MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone and there was a whirlwind of deals being made. It's been some time since the Yankees were sellers at the trade deadline. While I, like many, may not be happy with the departure of Andrew Miller, I am thrilled with the returns that will soon be reinforcing the NY farm system. I did a quick search through some of my recent cards to find some cardboard of the newest Yankee farmhands. In no particular order, here they are.

Pieces of the Beltran, Chapman, and Miller deals from left to right.

Here is the centerpiece of the Miller deal. I hope this kid continues to develop and that he ends up wearing pinstripes in the Yankee Stadium outfield one day. This is my best card of any of the new additions. It's the gold parallel of the Top 100 from this year's Bowman and is #/50.

Here is the centerpiece of the Chapman deal and perhaps the guy that I am most excited about them acquiring. He may or may not fulfill his massive potential and he does currently play SS(where the Yankees have a lot of young talent) but it is exciting to think he may become a part of the new core of the team.

Last but not least is this guy. He is not a new farmhand, but I sure am glad to have him rejoin the team. I was a big fan while he was putting up solid numbers as a middle reliever.

Farewell and good luck to Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran, and Ivan Nova. I sure hope some of this young talent ends up helping the big club, but at the least New York began the process of becoming a younger, more athletic team. Thanks for reading.

Finally, the Final Nachos Grande Group Break of 2015

It's been quite some time since Chris hosted his final group break of 2015 over at Nachos Grande central. It was a mixed break, highlighted(for me) by some 2015 Topps High Tek. There was some Stadium Club, Chrome, and a slew of other stuff included. I chose the Cubs this time around because I had some holes in a bunch of those sets that I hoped would be filled. While he hope of some set needs was a draw, the main reason I signed up was for the chance to get my hands on some High Tek(and maybe an auto of one of those great Cubs rookies). I didn't scan the majority of the base stuff, but I will say hat several of my needs from Heritage High Number and Stadium Club were filled.

The thing I love about Chris' breaks is you never know what 'bonus' cards you may find while unpacking your flat rate box. I thought I did pretty well in the break and there was still a good number of extra cards sent along with my break bounty. I love the parallels between those top two cards for so many reasons. They both picture the Cubs' big stars signing autos for the fans and they're both really great photos. Stadium Club is the set if you dig great photography these days. I've made it no secret that I love Collector's Choice and I've always thought it had photos comparable to that of SC. Thanks to Chris, I had these two for a side by side comparison. It's a pretty close contest, but if I'm judging these two, I may even have to give the edge to the CC of Rhyno.

Lots of goodies in this scan. I only have a small handful of those Fleer Extra Bases. I had to include the Kevin Foster because it's a CC, but also because that's an awesome throwback uniform from 1912. I loved Soriano from his Yankee days(both runs) and I think the Rizzo rookie cup Chrome is pretty sweet. Lastly, two prospects that appear to be traveling in opposite directions. Alcantara was quite the hot commodity last season. In fact, I was quite disappointed that he got called up right before the All-Star break and I didn't get to see him play in the Triple A All-Star Game. He had a fantastic debut and then struggled for most of the second half. He made the big club to start this season, but was back on the farm before the end of April. Still, he seemed to be ready to contribute, but never got the call(thanks to the contributions of all the other great Cubs rookies). He finished out the season in a downward spiral. Torres, on the other hand, was selected by Baseball America as the Cubs' number one prospect going into 2016. He big problem for this guy is that he doesn't seem to have a spot to play with Addison Russell blocking him at SS.

Now for my real draw.

I was very happy that Chris pulled an auto for my slot in the break, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that it was Mark Prior. These are really nice cards in hand. Overall, it was a worthwhile break for me. I filled some set needs, Chris pulled Bryant RCs for me from both Chrome and SC, and I ended up with an auto. Good stuff. That would have been great, but about a week after the arrival of my break goodies, I received another small package from Chris.

Robbie Cano! I still haven't gotten over him leaving for Seattle, but I still really like him. Fortunately, his A&G relic shows him still with the pinstripes on.

Rocket Tek! I have no idea what background this is or how rare it is, but I am thrilled to own my first Yankee from the acetate set. Thanks for another great break and for all of the bonus cards Chris. I can't wait to see what breaks you put together this year!