Recent Additions

 I've taken a chance on a couple Ebay items recently.  The first one is a Panini Optic blue Ryan Mountcastle on card auto numbered to 75.  The seller accepted my offer, which was 60% of the initial asking price, which surprised me a bit but I think it's a win.

I know Panini doesn't hold the same value as Topps and Bowman due to their lack of MLB licensing but I really liked this card in particular.  I think it looks sharp.  Mountcastle also had a very good rookie season, so I think the value of this compared to what I paid right now will arrow up.

I also purchased a Bowman Chrome prospects card of one of the better pitching prospects in baseball, Max Meyer of the Miami Marlins.  He was the third pick in the 2020 MLB draft, and while pitchers don't hold the same value as hitters in terms of collecting, for under $10 this screamed bargain bin to me.  When he gets called up, it will also go up a bit and hopefully he hits his immense ceiling.

It's not a 1st Bowman, which is definitely more coveted, but nonetheless he's an uber prospect and it's a prospect card.  

I recently bought a retail mega box of 2021 Panini Optic baseball off the Target website, and these boxes are guaranteed an auto.  My experience has been that when you get a guaranteed auto in a box, the auto is going to be a no name prospect or a journeyman ballplayer.  This box was different in my opinion, as I pulled a Christian Pache, who going into the 2021 MLB season was one of the rookie of the year favorites but suffered a lost season due to poor performance and injury.  In my mind, this is still a pretty good hit because the variance of outcomes Pache possesses due to his skill set varies to the point where he could be a complete bust or a star.  I'd take a result somewhere in the middle and call it a day.

This one is a sticker auto, so a bit less appealing to the eye.  However, I do think Optic cards are very nice looking despite the lack of team name or logos to be seen on any Panini products.