Just when you thought 2011 Bowman Chrome Draft couldn’t get any better, Topps gives us this gem of a card.

Not only is Daniel Vogelbach a talented prospect in the Cubs system (#10 overall by Baseball America and winner of 2011 Power Showcase), but he also seems to be the reincarnate of Chris Farley.  The minute this card image popped up on my eBay searches, I couldn’t help but find the SNL skit of Farley doing his Jon Kruk impersonation.

Enjoy the trip down memory lane.

It took a little while (probably longer than it should have), but the first 2011 Bowman Chrome USA 18U Superfractor auto entered and exited the market.  It turned out to be one of the players with the most upside, both hobby-wise and potential, in the entire set.

I really thought it would sell for more, given the prices of the other parallels.  Whoever ended up snagging it got a pretty solid deal.

Watch out for Walker Weickel.  Already standing at 6’6 205lbs, he’s about as projectable as a pitcher comes from the right side.  Touching 94 at this point can only mean scout salivate over his potential as he fills out down the road.

OK, so he isn’t American, nor did he play for team USA.  BUT, it’s too rawsome (raw+awesome = Rawsome) to not share with the masses.

Meet Yoenis Cespedes.   Right-Hand hitting outfielder and star of the Cuban National Team.  Long lost offspring of Sammy Sosa and Terrell Owens.

Now that you’ve watched the entire 20-minute highlight reel of everything that is Yoenis, what do you think? He seems to be a new name to the 2012 international free agents and an intriguing one to boot.  We can clearly see the power and athleticism in his game, but one must question his mental state (really…? posing and pointing to god before every rep in the gym? Yikes.).  He’s apparently looking at a $30MM contract and the rumored interest lies in Miami (no shocker there).

Before I can gather my own thoughts, I’ll leave you with a fantastic read from Baseball Prospectus.  Not only do they talk about the player, but they also go in-depth with the breakdown of the entire video.  The music choices alone would make George Steinbrenner roll over in his grave.

Another USA season is starting, which means the USA card license is once again in full swing.  Topps still holds the licensing rights, so they planned another schedule of release dates for the Team USA autographs, spread out over multiple releases.  While the 2011 Topps Chrome autos (Collegiate) are only in redemption form and the 2011 Bowman Platinum redemption autos (Collegiate) are cheaper than cheap, we finally have the first live and significant set.

The 18U team are once again autos in 2011 Bowman Chrome, featuring a lackluster team of players (arguably so), and the prices are reflecting of this.  Two of the best players - Albert Almora and Nelson Rodriguez – are back for repeat USA autographs.  The rest of the roster is pretty pedestrian outside of Gavin Cecchini and Addison Russell.  The most notable pitching prospect is Walker Weickel, who oozes projectability in his 6-6, 205 lb frame. High risk and high reward.

It might be early in the USA season for sales to pick up, but these have also been fueled by projection and potential.  While it was always nice to see some of the players perform on the world stage, the draft hype train pushes them to higher levels.  Based on all the variables, we have a low level of hype and few names to really carry the value.  It pains me to say this but these are nice to have as more personal collection items at this point. The sustainability and growth just isn’t there, at least until the hype train starts rolling.

The full checklist is below, along with market links for each player.  Feel free to check them out and see if you can get your favorite prospect at low prices.

18U-1 Albert Almora
18U-2 Alex Bregman
18U-3 Gavin Cecchini - Orange Refractor Sale: $97
18U-4 Troy Conyers – Red Refractor Sale: $118
18U-6 Chase DeJong
18U-8 Carson Fulmer
18U-13 Cole Irvin
18U-15 Jeremy Martinez
18U-17 Chris Okey
18U-18 Cody Poteet
18U-19 Nelson Rodriguez
18U-21 Addison Russell - Red Refractor Sales:  $210 and $205
18U-22 Clate Schmidt
18U-24 Hunter Virant
18U-25 Walker Weickel - Red Refractor Sale:  $140
18U-26 Mickey White
18U-28 Jesse Winker