As teams are making their pushes toward the post season, a rash of mid-season call-ups have escalated the demand for quite a few prospect rookie cards resulting in an overwhelming demand and collectors paying out at some all-time highs for prices. For the month of August and possibly into late October, I can see that Gordon Beckham and his cards are going to very hot.

Here is the Top 25 Baseball Cards for August 2009:

1. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Gordon Beckham RC Auto
2. 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospects Tommy Hanson RC
3. 2007 Bowman Chrome Tim Lincecum RC Auto
4. 2009 SPx Matt Wieters Auto
5. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Jesus Montero RC Auto
6. 2007 Bowman Sterling Tim Lincecum RC Auto
7. 1997 Bowman Chrome Roy Halladay RC
8. 2009 Bowman Prospects Gordon Beckham Auto
9. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Buster Posey RC Auto
10. 2004 Bowman Chrome Aflac Andrew McCutchen
11. 2005 Topps Chrome Update Andrew McCutchen Auto
12. 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Pick Evan Longoria RC AU
13. 2008 Bowman Sterling Evan Longoria RC Auto
14. 2009 Bowman Chrome Prospects Logan Morrison Auto
15. 2006 Bowman Chrome Justin Upton RC AU
16. 2007 Donruss EEE Matt Weiters Auto
17. 2008 Sweet Spot USA Signatures Black Stitch Red Auto Stephen Strasburg
18. 2008 Upper Deck USA Stephen Strasburg
19. 2009 Topps Red Hot Rookie Redemptions
20. 2004 Bowman Chrome Felix Hernandez Auto
21. 2002 Bowman Chrome Joe Mauer RC Auto
22. 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects David Price Auto
23. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Rick Porcello RC
24. 2009 Topps Chrome Tommy Hanson RC Auto
25. 2005 Bowman Chrome Pospects Justin Verlander Auto

Happy collecting!

Topps has signed an exclusive deal with Major League Baseball, and starting 2010 will have an exclusivity on MLB, club trademarks, logos and other intellectual property for use on baseball cards, stickers and other product categories featuring MLB players.

What does this mean? Basically that no other card manufacturers will be able to show photography of players in their actual MLB uniform or use team logos on their product. Topps is hoping that this exclusivity will appeal to a new generation of enthusiasts and restore their reign as the crown jewel of the sports collecting world.

he exclusive arrangement ends MLB’s 30-year relationship with Upper Deck, the other main player in the market, which retains licensing rights from the MLB Players Association. That enables Upper Deck to continue producing cards with players’ images, but team logos and such are out.

Prospectors and collectors alike love the adrenaline rush from the mid-season prospect call-up or the rookie who was invited out of camp making it big in their first season of play. This year’s crop of recent call-ups and rookies have not let us down. Like previous seasons, some of our favorites and some dark horses have been putting up huge numbers on their first blush with the show.

Not only have these huge starts resulted in immediate pay-off for their big league club, it has resulted in a large pay-off for prospectors who have been sitting on a large stash, waiting for the right time to sell. Let’s take a look at some of the players making a large splash today:

Rick Porcello – SP – Detroit Tigers (9-7, 4.36 ERA, 55 Ks)
This 20 year flame thrower made it to the bigs directly out of camp. His 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft and 2008 Donruss EEE Auto continue to be hot sellers. His prices have cooled off in the past few weeks, but there is still a monumental upside to Porcello.

Elvis Andrus – SS – Texas Rangers (.263 AVG, 4 HR, 20 SB, 42 R)
Another 20 year phenom making it on the everyday roster, the Rangers saw so much talent is Andrus they moved over perennial All-Star and Gold Glove winner Michael Young to 3B. His 2006 Bowman Chrome Prospect has been selling pretty steadily all season. Plan on buying on a few these to hold as he should have a permanent spot on the roster and possible All-Star roster.

Tommy Hanson – P – Atlanta Braves (6-2, 3.22 ERA, 46 Ks)
Considered by some as the crown jewel of the very talented Atlanta Braves prospect pool, Hanson has added some much needed stability to the shaky Braves rotation. Collectors were salivating at Hanson after he started off his young career 5-0 and was making headlines across the sports world. After his June call-up, price of his 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospect sky rocketed in anticipation and reached new heights after his hot start. His first certified auto was just released in the 2009 Topps Chrome set.

Gordon Beckham – 3B – Chicago White Sox (.314 AVG, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 18 2B)
It’s hard to believe that a little over a year ago Beckham was on the main stage at the College World Series, now he is in the lime light in Chicago, working on a ROY-type season. In the past weeks his cards have started to soar in price. His 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto has seen a steady incline in price. These cards could hit all new highs as the White Sox make a push towards the post season and Beckham climbs higher in the ROY ballets.

Andrew McCutchen – OF – Pittsburgh Pirates (.292 AVG, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 5 3B)
It seems every year prospectors talk about when McCutchen was going to be brought up to help the struggling Pirates organization. Consistently ranked Number 1 by Baseball America in the Pirates Organization since he was drafted, McCutchen finally got called up. The Pirates haven’t been disappointed. McCutchen’s 2004 Bowman Chrome AFLAC and 2005 Bowman Chrome Draft have seen nice gains as McCutchen has started to adjust to every day play in the bigs. He has a great shot at a NL ROY award and you could see a nice spike in sales if he would win.

Derek Holland – P – Texas Rangers (4-7, 5.60 ERA, 68 Ks)
This 25th round pick of the Rangers made his way to the starting rotation after his second full year in the minors. His 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto has been steadily increasing with each start. Holland could be a number 1 starter in the coming years.

Josh Reddick – OF – Boston Red Sox (.313 AVG, 1 HR, 3 2B in 4 games)
With only a few games under his belt, Reddick has made a huge splash in the hobby with his over night success at the plated. His 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto almost doubled over night. I would consider these a strong hold if you haven’t already sold.

Matt Wieters – C – Baltimore Orioles (.269 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI)
Easily the most anticipated prospect in all of MLB coming into the 2009 season. The Paul Bunyan-esk Weiters has got off to slow start in Baltimore but is showing leaps and bounds of adjustment and improvement to the game. Sales have remained steady on his 2007 Donruss EEE and 2009 SPx Auto.

The month of July is synonymous with one thing: HOT. Throughout the month of June, I don’t think there was a player that was as hot as Tim Lincecum. The Freak amassed freakish numbers for the month that included 3 wins, 40 Ks, 1.82 ERA, 39.2 IP in 5 games started. Lincecum’s 2007 Bowman Chrome RC Auto has been reaching freakish prices too. Close on his heels for the month is Stephen Strasburg, who has yet to even sign a MLB contract, but continues to be the buzz around the shop.

1. 2007 Bowman Chrome Tim Lincecum RC Auto
2. 1997 Bowman Chrome Roy Halladay RC
3. 2008 Sweet Spot USA Signatures Black Stitch Red Auto Stephen Strasburg
4. 2008 Upper Deck USA Stephen Strasburg
5. 2007 Bowman Sterling Tim Lincecum RC Auto
6. 2007 Donruss EEE Matt Weiters Auto
7. 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospects Tommy Hanson RC
8. 2006 Bowman Chrome Justin Upton RC AU
9. 2009 SPx Mystery Rookie Redemption Exchange
10. 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects Josh Vitters RC Auto
11. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Buster Posey RC Auto
12. 2005 Topps Chrome Update Andrew McCutchen Auto
13. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Gordon Beckham RC Auto
14. 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Pick Evan Longoria RC AU
15. 2008 Bowman Sterling Evan Longoria RC Auto
16. 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres Zack Greinke Auto XRC
17. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Jesus Montero RC Auto
18. 2009 Topps Red Hot Rookie Redemptions
19. 2008 SP Authentic Evan Longoria RC Auto
20. 2002 Bowman Chrome Draft Josh Johnson RC
21. 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects David Price Auto
22. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Rick Porcello RC
23. 2004 Bowman Chrome Aflac Andrew McCutchen
24. 2009 Bowman Chrome Prospects Logan Morrison Auto
25. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Lonnie Chisenhall RC Auto

Happy collecting!

On Wednesday, a foursome of high-talent prospects, landed themselves on big-league rosters. Some of these arrivals have been very highly anticipated and publicized as to when these prospects would actually break the 40-man rosters, so now it seems as if those questions have been answered.

After being nearly unhittable in 11 games with the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves, Tommy Hanson posted a 3-3 record, 1.49 ERA, and had unbelievable 90 KOs through 66.1 IP. Signed by the Braves as a 22nd round pick in the 2005 Draft, Hanson has been considered a top prospect in both the Braves organization and all of minor league baseball. He was the 2008 Arizona Fall League MVP and was named to their All-Prospect Team. Expect to see some big jumps in the price on his 2007 Bowman Chrome RC.

Andrew McCutchen, former first round (11th overall) selection in 2005 of the Pirates, and former AFLAC All-American, has found his way to the Pirates roster after the trade of Nate McClouth to the Atlanta Braves. Considered a five-tool player (hitting for average, hitting for power, baserunning, throwing ability, and fielding abilities), McCuthchen has been in the spotlight since being drafted out of high school. He spent all of last year with Triple-A Indianapolis posting a .283 average with 9 HR, 50 RBI, and 34 SB in 135 games. This year with Indianapolis he has posted a .303 average with 4 HR, 20 RBI, and 10 SB in 49 games. Keep an eye on his 2004 Bowman Chrome RC and 2005 Topps Chrome Update Auto RC and expect to see huge jumps in prices.

After blazing through the White Sox farm system, their number one draft pick in 2008, Gordon Beckham is getting his chance in the bigs. Beckham, who last year at this time, was trying to help his Georgia Bulldogs win an NCAA Championship, has seemingly made an easy transition to the next level. He spent 38 games at Double-A affiliate Birmingham before his call-up to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. For the season, Beckham was batting .326, with 4 HR, 25 RBI, 23 2B, in 45 games. Beckham’s 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto RC has been on the hot list since it was first released. Expect to see a slight rise with the hype around his call-up.

Unlike the other three prospects, Luke Hochevar has already got his feet wet in the bigs. Hochevar hasn’t had the best-of-luck at the MLB level, posting a career 6-15 record, 5.63 ERA, and 80 KOs through 153.1 IP over 26 games. Hochever, the former first round, first overall pick of the Royals in 2006, started the season in KC, but was demoted to Triple-A Omaha after just two starts. At Omaha, Hochevar has seemed to have found his stuff, posting a 5-1 record, 1.50 ERA, 36 KOs, through 48 IP over 8 games. Hochevar’s 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto RC still can be found pretty cheap, especially for a former number 1 pick. His track record isn’t very strong, but he is showing the potential that Royals need.

Over the weekend, our friends at BlowOutCards.com were having a sale on their 2009 Bowman Baseball boxes. I decided to buy one so that I could do a review of the product for all of my readers, as well as, hold the very first DailyWax Reader Contest. To enter the contest, simply reply to this entry with your name and email address (which will not be visible) along with your guess of which pack (1 through 24) will contain the Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto. If you correctly guess which pack contains the auto, I will mail you the card. In the event of multiple correct guesses, it will be randomly awarded to one of the correct guessers. You are only allowed to enter your guess once, multiple guesses from the same email address will result in disqualification from the contest. Be sure you use a valid email address, as I will be contacting the winner via email on where to send their prize. I plan on posting the results of the break as well as my review of the product sometime this week, so please check back for the results.

At the ripe age of 23, the Baltimore Orioles phenom Matt Wieters has finally arrived. This highly anticipated event was put on hold coming out of Spring Training as the O’s decided to reassign Wieters instead of having him join the club at the beginning on the season. In 39 games for Triple-A Norfolk, Wieters batted .305 with 5 HR and 30 RBI. These numbers pale in comparison the physical number that Wieters posses, the 6-foot 5-inch, 230-pound frame of Matt is almost as freaskish in nature as the hype that has been surrounding him at his days at Georgia Tech.

While there is no sleeper watch to report here, many prospectors are looking to cash in on Wieters arrival. A number of his cards with very high price tags following closely to the hype that was around Jay Bruce as he made his debut last year. Wieters did not have the same instance success that Bruce did at the plate, but I have a feeling in the long run Matt will be far better than Jay.

If you are looking for some of his more popular cards, currently his 2007 Donruss EEE is on our hot list as well as a top card among many prospectors and hobbyists alike. Be sure save a few as the potential for Wieters is just as monstrous as his size.

According to Yahoo Sports, Zach Greinke is currently listed as a Not Hot players on their Hot or Not list. I guess in his last two starts his ERA has ballooned from 0.60 to 0.84, allowing 3 ER over 15 IP, 2 BB, while having 16 KOs. I am not sure how this constitutes being placed on their Not Hot list, but I can assure you, that Greinke is anything but Not Hot. In fact, he may be the hottest player in the MLB this season and one of the brightest future stars in the league. He has already 5 complete games on the season, leads the league in wins (8), ERA (0.84), WHIP (0.88), and is second in K’s (81). With his freakish start to the season there has been a huge spike in the sales and value of some of his more sought after cards, like his 2002 Bowman Chrome RC, and 2002 Prospects Premiere Auto RC.

The 20-year-old New York Mets phenom, Fernando Martinez, made his major league debut last Tuesday (5/26/2009) making him the youngest player in the MLB today. Today, Topps announced that F-Mart would be their first Red Hot Rookie redemption player. These redemption cards were randomly insert one-per-box in the 2009 Topps Series 2 Baseball packs. The cards can be redeemed online at topps.com.

In total, there are 10 Red Hot Rookies in the set, which will be announced throughout the rest of the baseball season.

Fernando also was featured in the 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospects Auto set, as well as, the 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft set. While this 2009 Topps Red Hot Rookie may not be his first produced card, it will definitely be a sought after card due to the expiration of the redemption and the attractiveness of the card.

Big Papi’s recent power outage is leaving more than the Red Sox nation in the dark. Ortiz, a predominate .300 hitter, averaging 40+ HR, and 100+ RBI since joining the Sox in 2003 is amid a landslide at the plate this year. Batting .193 with 1 HR and 18 RBI in his first 42 games this year has rang loudly across Ortiz fantasy-owners and collectors. This slump has created a bottom-out in prices in Ortiz’s 1997 Fleer RC as well as a majority of his other memorabilia and cards.

Amid the rumors and accusations of Oritz’s steroid use, one has to wonder where his power has gone in the last two years? Since last year’s All-Star break, Papi has managed to club only 11 HR, and for someone whose role on the team is purely to hit, I have to feel these numbers are disheartening to the Sox organization. All players face a multiple slumps along their career, and most snap out with a vengeance. If that tradition holds true in the case for Ortiz, his recent cold streak should transpire in to a spectacular show once he snaps out.

Enjoy the basement bargain prices on Ortiz as most collectors and having a fire sale with his cards.