Carding Baseball America's MLB Prospects Hot Sheet (May 20)

Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. Logan Gilbert, RHP, Seattle Mariners — High-A Modesto Nuts
Baseball America’s highlight line: “His professional debut this year was worth the wait. Gilbert overwhelmed low Class A hitters in four starts to begin the year and has been similarly dominant since his promotion to high Class A. His delivered 12 scoreless innings over two starts this week, capped by Sunday’s seven-inning, two-hit, 11-strikeout performance at Rancho Cucamonga. Overall Gilbert is 3-0, 1.75 with 53 strikeouts and nine walks in 36 innings, with opponents batting just .157 against him."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 200
First Chrome auto: 2018 Bowman Draft 
One auto to consider: 2018 Panini Contenders Draft Picks
Buzz’s card take: He seems to be an affordable Chromw auto -- for now -- so that's a good sign. What's also a good sign is that more than half of his cards are of the certified auto variety. He doesn't have a ton of cardboard for a guy who was the 14th pick in last year's MLB Draft. These all feel like winning variables right now given those stats. You can land him in his college colors with an on-card auto on the cheap in Contenders.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

2. Dylan Carlson, OF, St. Louis Cardinals — Double-A Springfield Cardinals
Baseball America’s highlight line: “The advanced switch-hitter continues to grow into his power and has nine doubles, five triples, seven home runs and a .544 slugging percentage this year as one of the youngest players in the Texas League. He homered three times in four games to finish last week and is in the midst of an eight-game hit streak."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 150
First Chrome auto: 2016 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2016 Elite Extra Edition
Buzz’s card take: Just half of his paltry card total includes ink so there could be some competition here now with some attention from Baseball America. Another interesting nugget about his ink? He only signed back in 2016 and hasn't since. He's in Leaf Trinity, Elite Extra Edition, Leaf Metal and Bowman Chrome Draft -- and that's it. There seems like some very good potential here, too, as long as you get in on the cheaper side. 

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3. Yordan Alvarez, 1B/OF, Houston Astros — Triple-A Round Rock Express
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Alvarez has 18 home runs in 39 games. He's hitting an obscene .411/.494/.884, leading the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in batting average and slugging ... The No. 32 prospect on the Top 100 and trending up, Alvarez shouldn't expect to spend much more time in Round Rock, with his major league debut likely coming soon."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 200
First Chrome auto: 2018 Bowman Chrome
One auto to consider: 2018 Elite Extra Edition 
Buzz’s card take: About a third of his cards are autos and this is not the first time he's been seen here -- so he shouldn't be a mystery. His latest ink can be found in packs of 2019 Donruss -- a trio of cards with a standard, a parallel (/99) and a 1/1 version. The rest are all from last year. The boldness of the line above means you don't need to know any more from me. I didn't test this but there's a chance that you could find some cards on eBay searching for Jordan Alvarez -- autocorrect gets me on this guy often. 

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4. Jasseel De La Cruz
, RHP, Atlanta Braves — Double-A Mississippi Braves
Baseball America’s highlight line: “De La Cruz tossed the first no hitter in high Class-A Florida’s history, needing just 89 pitches to do so. The righthander was economical, allowing just two walks while striking out four. Atlanta’s No. 29 prospect has struggled with his control in the past, but hasn’t walked more than two batters in any of his eight starts this season."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only in MiLB team sets
First Chrome auto: None yet
One auto to consider: None yet
Buzz’s card take: You can find him in at least the 2017 Danville Braves and 2018 Rome Braves team sets and then anything that's arrived this year and that's about it. There should be demand for his ink when it arrives as a no-hitter and being a Braves prospect these days get attention. And the Braves need more arms to push further than in past recent years. He's been in the minors since 2015 and has a 12-10 record with a 3.55 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 205 innings -- but he's just now in Double-A ball. He's on a hot streak for sure but it doesn't seem like anything is a given. This season he's 3-2 with a 2.15 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 46 innings.

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5. Jarren Duran, OF, Boston Red Sox — High-A Salem Red Sox
Baseball America’s highlight line: “The early breakout star of the season extended his hit streak to 10 games with another scorching week and leads the minors with a .406 batting average this season. Duran is starting to be written up as a consensus future everyday player among scouts, especially as his center field defense continues to improve."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only in MiLB team sets
First Chrome auto: None yet
One auto to consider: None yet
Buzz’s card take: This 22-year-old could be a very big deal once he hits prospect cardboard if those stats continue to pile up. The only eBay options right now are from the 2018 Lowell Spinners set and last year's New York Penn League Top Prospects set. He was a seventh-round pick last year out of California State University Long Beach and he hit .357 with three homers, 35 RBI and 24 SBs for two levels of A-ball last season. Hitting .374 in your first 105 MiLB games isn't shabby and he's added 13 more steals so far this season.

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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