MLB’s East Divisions

Baseball is here. Kind of. It’s in South Korea at least. It’ll be all the way here next week. Before Opening

Day, it is time to run through the last of the baseball regions. If you missed them, take a minute and

check out the West and Central rundowns. Importantly, this is not a list of the best players on each

team. Rather, it is a look at one player who I think has an interesting storyline in the hobby this year.

American League East

Baltimore Orioles- The Orioles delivered last year and the excitement around them is growing. Their

young talent is superb, but I’m more interested in how the hobby treats Corbin Burnes if he performs

well. With Greinke, Kershaw, Scherzer, and Verlander on the way out, Burnes is in the mix with about a

dozen other players to be the next hobby-relevant pitcher. A Cy Young and a trip to the postseason and

we might all be kicking ourselves for not picking up Burnes rookie autos for less than the price of a retail

blaster.

Boston Red Sox- The Red Sox had a nauseating 2023. Red Sox fans were too sickened to notice that

Triston Casas put together a stellar year for a 23-year-old after starting slow. Casas has his sights set on

a .300/.400/.500 slash line. Should he reach that, his cards will look like a bargain. Currently, one can

pick up some solid rookie autos for under $40 and some stunning cards in the $100 range.

New York Yankees- The Martian is still off on the horizon. Now, it is Juan Soto time. If you listen to

collectors online, Soto has had a “down” last couple of years. Down for him means two All-Star

appearances, an OPS+ of 147 and 158, and a top-10 MVP performance. Soto seems like he has been

around forever, but he’ll only be 25 this season. The question is if he keeps performing like the last two

years which would put him in the HOF or if he can do his best PED-era Bonds impersonation and become

the biggest thing in the game. I’m betting on the latter and am expecting massive things from Soto in the

next few years. Also, pay attention to Giancarlo Stanton’s push to get to 500 home runs. His HOF

chances depend on it.

Tampa Bay Rays- Caminero is starting the season in the minors so let’s turn to Curtis Mead for a hobby-

relevant Ray. The rare Australian to make the majors, Mead’s biggest concern will be trying to find

consistent playing time. The Rays have an interesting mix of talent and some skilled players will be left

on the bench most days. If Mead gets a decent shot with regular playing time, he’s an opportunistic

enough baserunner to get 15-20 steals and has enough pop to hit 20 home runs. Mead has a shot to be

someone the hobby pays attention to. Realistically, his most likely outcome is being a utility player who

always struggles to get regular at-bats.

Toronto Blue Jays- This is do-or-die time for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the hobby. 2021 Vladdy was good

enough to be a top-five guy in the hobby. 2022 Vlad was still good enough to be a top thirty guy in the

hobby. 2023 Vlad should scare collectors. That Vladimir wasn’t good enough to sustain being a top fifty

guy in the hobby. Discount boxes are littered with rookies of players who had a fluky great year early

and never reached that level again. Collectors have already massively cooled on Guerrero and another

year like last year will see Vlad’s cards begin the sad migration from the showcase to the discount box.

National League East

Atlanta Braves- I’ve been hyping Michael Harris II in this column for over a year now. His cards became

much harder to win at auction once people began preparing for fantasy baseball. If Harris can just

replicate the second half of his season from last year over a full campaign, he’s looking at a 20/20

season and a potential batting title. He’s looked good this Spring Training and may are expecting his

power to develop further. If it does, he’s going to be in the MVP discussions.

Miami Marlins- The Marlins are the home of intriguing young pitchers that get hurt. I’m boycotting their

pitchers and watching Luis Arraez. Arraez is doing his best job to follow the Tony Gwynn path to hobby

stardom. Arraez will almost definitely finish his career with under 100 home runs. Even so, he’s got a

chance to make the HOF and get attention in the hobby. It’s going to take a lot though. He got a nice

spike when he flirted with .400 for a bit last year, but his cards settled back when his average dipped.

Another batting title would give him three in a row. That fact mattered more in the 80s and 90s though.

He’s going to need either a few years of high-average hitting (very likely) or he’s going to need one

breakthrough year with eye-popping numbers (possible) to get hobby attention. The Marlins might not

be worth watching in the hobby, but Arraez’s average sure is.

New York Mets- Pete Alonso is likely going to need 500 home runs to reach the HOF. That means he

can’t afford any dips in production, injuries, or any type of down year. He’s got all the extras one wants

in a baseball star, mainly that he’s a giant that swats homers. He’s charismatic enough that I’ve included

him in my PC despite being a Braves fan. Up until now, his cards have avoided going nuclear due to that

tough road to the HOF. I don’t think they will this year either barring a 50-60 homer season. I am

worried they’ll dip even if he hits 35 home runs. He needs to be hitting at least 40 for the next few

seasons to keep his cards at their current levels.

Philadelphia Phillies- I’m not particularly interested in Bryce Harper in 2024. There just aren’t any other

Phillies that I’m interested in from a hobby standpoint. Realmuto, Nola, and Turner haunt my dreams as

a Braves fan, but they don’t do much at all in the hobby world. So, Harper, it is. He’ll be great. He always

is. I fully expect his cards to slowly pick up some steam, but not too much. I don’t have many questions

about Harper at this point. He’s a known quantity and the hobby has already figured out how to value

him.

Washington Nationals- C.J. Abrams is the most intriguing youngster currently on the Nationals roster.

His numbers are pedestrian (being charitable) except for his base stealing. His other major asset is his

age. Abrams is young and collectors are looking at his age (23), his home runs last year (18), and his

stolen bases last year (47) and envisioning 30/30 seasons to come. It’s a long shot for sure. The good

news is that his cards are super cheap so at least the price is right.

Wrap Up

That’s it for the baseball preview. I’m sure many of you all are getting sick of baseball, but I’d expect one

more baseball article for Opening Day next week. I promise I’ll get to basketball or football the next

week.

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