Jo Adell, Prospect and/or Goldmine

I talk a really good game when it comes to collecting cards without any regard to their future value. "Just the players I admire, even if no one else does" - you know? I'm no flipper, just a normal "citizen collector". And yet I'm now collecting the cards of two current prospects whom I've never actually seen play: Joey Bart, and the Los Angeles California Angels of Anaheim's Jo Adell. So yeah. Why collect prospects if not for the potential to "hit it big" with their minor league and early cards, once they become superstars?

I don't think that's really it with me, honestly. How much can my Jo Adell Salt Lake Bees card really be worth, ten years down the line? Say the dude maintains a lifetime .320 average ten years from now, and wins a couple of MVPs over his teammate Mike Trout. Maybe sell the thing for $25 somewhere down the road? Yeah, not really moving the needle for me. And of course, that's not likely to happen, no matter how much hype is buzzing around Orange County right now,

No, I think it's a more primal or goofball need to be on the ground floor of a given phenomenon - in this case,  a baseball player who might end up being a household name a few years from now. Oh hey, I had all his cards when he was playing for the Mobile Baybears! I guess I read about Adell a year or two ago, followed his progress in the minors, and bought into the lore that he's going to be a big piece of the next Angels World Championship team. That's why. Guy seems like someone worth following - and his cards are pretty cheap, too - for now.

I don't even know if Jo Adell is going to make the team for the 60-game season that starts in two days. For now, however, please have a look at 8 of the 13 or so cards of his I've accumulated.