Here is the week #6 installment of USA Collegiate Player Updates, broken down into 9 action packed innings.  The folks at Prospect Nation have done a great job of highlighting the best performances, along with some outside links highlighting the players within.  Don’t forget to check out their first website only special – 2010 Topps USA Retail Box Sets – featuring the only card of Rice 3B Anthony Rendon.

1^st: UCLA junior RHP Trevor Bauer pitched two of the best games of his career this past week and has been named the PAC-10 Pitcher of the Week as well as the prestigious Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week; Bauer notched 2 consecutive wins during a rare 2-start week following a week-long vacation for the Bruins; he fanned 12 batters over 7-innings on Monday to combine-on-shutout against Cal Poly; he followed that up with a Friday night 1-hit complete game shutout over rival USC that saw him fan 14 batters, taking a no-hit performance into the 8^th inning; Bauer is now the NCAA Strikeout Leader…

[LINK: Bauer tosses complete-game 1-hitter]

[LINK: Bauer named PAC-10 Pitcher of the Week]

[LINK: Bauer named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week]

2^nd: Stanford freshman 1B Brian Ragira entered the Cardinal’s history books as he hit for the cycle this past week; Ragira did it on 5-of-5 hitting that included an early triple followed by a double, homerun (his first collegiate round-tripper) and two consecutive singles; on the week, he was a combined 9-for-21 with a 2B, 3B, HR, and 6 RBI’s…

[LINK: Ragira hits for cycle, collects first collegiate double, homerun]

3^rd: Vanderbilt junior RHP Sonny Gray lost his first game of the season after tossing 7 shutout innings; Gray went the distance but couldn’t garner the run-support to overcome a 2-1 deficit during an otherwise brilliant pitching performance; on the night, Gray finished with 8-innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while fanning 12 and walking 4; the 2 earned runs was the highest he has allowed since opening day, and matched the 2 combined runs allowed over his prior four starts that spanned 29.1 innings…

[LINK: Gray drops first game in hard-luck fashion]

4^th: South Carolina junior OF Jackie Bradley, Jr., shined this week against #1-ranked Florida; last year’s College World Series “Most Outstanding Player” showed again that he could play under pressure as USC handed Florida their first losing series; Bradley was a combined 8-for-19 with a 2B, 2 HR’s and 6 RBI’s…

[LINK: Bradley gets hot after finding new baseball “superstition”]

[LINK: Gators drop first series of season to South Carolina]

5^th: LSU junior OF Mikie Mahtook found his power stroke again; Mahtook opened the season with a four homerun week followed by two consecutive weeks with just one each; he then hit a dry-spell and hasn’t had a round-tripper in over 15 days; that ended this past weekend as Mahtook was a combined 7-for-16 with 2 HR’s, 4 RBI’s and a SB…

6^th: CS-Fullerton pitching tandem Nick Ramirez & Noe Ramirez (no relation) combined-on-shutout against conference rival Hawaii; Noe started the game and pitched 8 scoreless innings, allowing just 4 hits while fanning 8 and walking 2; Nick closed out the shutout with a perfect 9^th inning to collect his 22^nd save on the year…

[LINK: Ramirez tandem blanks Rainbows]

7^th: TCU junior RHP Kyle Winkler took a tough no-decision after a dominating performance this past Friday in a game that coach Jim Schlossnagle called his “worst loss in eight years”; for 8 innings Winkler showed the ace-form that has him projected to be a first-round draft pick in June after suffering his first loss of the season last week; he avenged that loss by fanning 9 over eight frames, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and walking 3…

[LINK: Winkler dominates, bullpen falls apart]

8^th: Kansas senior RHP T.J. Walz knows the season did not start well; over his first two starts he had accumulated two consecutive losses by allowing 9 runs over a combined 5.2 innings of work; Walz got back in the saddle after that and won his next two consecutive starts; since then he got a no-decision and a tough loss with a decent outing; this past week he pitched the best game of his senior season, going 7.2 innings and allowing just 1 run on 4 hits while fanning 10 and walking one…

[LINK: Walz delivers sterling performance, loses heartbreaker]

9^th: Virginia senior RPH Tyler Wilson was converted to a starting role from relief this year and has responded well to the move; on the year, Wilson is 3-0 over 6 starts with a 2.27 ERA and has fanned 45 in 35.2 IP; this past week he got his 3^rd no-decision but pitched very well, going 7.1 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 4 hits, fanning 11 and walking one…

[LINK: Wilson logs career-high innings, strikeouts]

This is the second time we’ve touched on the Bowman Chrome Wrapper Redemption autos, which are equally frustrating and amazing.  Clearly, there are some singles (18U team) that haven’t seen a ton of market action, due to the striking similarities to their chrome auto counterpart (and by that, we mean exactly the same!).

The collegiate team however, is starting to see some incredible prices for both versions, base /99 and black bordered /25.  They might all be sticker autos and not really be refractors, but the hobby buyers are truly going by the motto “Chrome Is King!”.

When the wrapper redemption was first announced and then when these hit the market, the reactions were mixed.  Nobody knew how they would be received or what they would sell for.  While they were truly “free” money for anyone who had wrappers to send in, I doubt collectors could imagine they would bring in this much return.

Here is the Collegiate team in full, w/ Top 5 in sale price and search links.  If you haven’t bought any of these yet, I suggest you finally

BLACK BORDERED #’d /25

1. George Springer – Amazing high sales of $413.73 and $399.99 for what might be the top outfielder in the country.
2. Matt Barnes -  Right behind his own teammate from UCONN, Barnes is seen as a potential top 10 pick w/ a $125 high sale.
3. Mikie Mahtook – Finally tapping into his power full-time, the LSU multi-tool OF has seen highs of $100.
4. Brad Miller -  This one comes as a big surprise, considering his 2009 stuff sells quite low.  He hit $80 with his 2010 cards.
5. Peter O’Brien -  Probably the top power hitting catching prospect in the country and people are taking notice w/ a $75 high, so far.

BASE #’d /99

1. Gerrit Cole – Pitching his heart out at the top of the UCLA rotation is making his stuff sell very well.  Top sale at $188.38 so far…
2. George Springer – UCONN might be falling rapidly, but Springer is the key to the offense.  One of the best sellers at $137.50 for /99 auto.
3. Jackie Bradley Jr. – These have been quite scarce on the market, but the high has been $133.50 so far…
4. Mikie Mahtook – Talk about a power surge.  Mahtook is showing the new bats aren’t dead w/ $56 per chrome auto.
5. Nick Ramirez - Being a closer and a mid-lineup bat is a good position to hold.  Ramirez ended at a $43 high.

It was a few weeks ago that I made a little twitter comment about Jackie Bradley Jr. and how I viewed his draft stock.  My comment about being an undersized outfielder took some notice by Jackie, prompting him to tell me “Undersized? We will see…” as he showed me his championship ring.  A UCLA fan like myself couldn’t help but get jealous, but he also began his 2011 season proving me wrong.

From The Daily Gamecock:

In South Carolina’s season opener, three things were made utterly clear: the grass is still green, the sky is still blue and Jackie Bradley Jr. is still a superstar.

Picking up where he left off last year, the preseason All-American kicked off 2011 with a bang, going 4-4 at the plate with a two-run homer and three RBI as the Gamecocks proceeded to thrash Santa Clara 12-5.

…..

“I’m seeing the ball very well right now,” Bradley said. “I’m just trying to see my pitches and not miss. It was a great day. We all came out and played the game the right way, and we got a win out of it.”

Though he found success early, the junior truly showed his prowess when he came to bat in the fifth inning. Following an Adam Matthews single, Bradley crushed 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall for a 402-foot home run, marking his first of the season and extending the Gamecocks’ lead to 3-0.

…..

Bradley’s most memorable at-bat, however, came in the bottom of the eighth. Following a three-run inning from Santa Clara that shortened the Gamecocks’ lead to 6-5, the junior came up with Matthews on first and began an 11-pitch duel with Bronco reliever Paul Twining.

With a full count, and having just avoided an out after third baseman Kyle DeMerritt dropped a pop fly in foul territory, Bradley hammered a ball into right-center field, advancing Matthews to third while notching his second double of the day.

“It felt like forever,” Bradley said of the at-bat. “Gnats kept getting in my eyes, and I thank the umpire for giving me time sometimes. [Twining] had me down two strikes and I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m not going to let him throw it by me.’ He was struggling with his off-speed [pitches] a little bit so I figured he wasn’t going to throw that. After the third baseman missed it, I kind of had a feeling that I was going to get a hit. It was a big at bat.”

If his off-season work is any indicator, Jackie Bradley Jr. is ready to prove all the doubters wrong and solidify his draft stock as the best college outfielder.  With the new bat regulations potentially lowering power numbers, he seems to be unaffected by the changes.  I’m ready to be shown my ignorance and I’m also ready to see the card market spike because of his performances.

If you haven’t bought anything yet, I wouldn’t wait much longer. The completed listings show some shocking prices and they won’t going down anytime soon.  It looks to be a market race between George Springer and Jackie Bradley Jr. for outfield supremacy.

2010 Topps USA Green Ink Auto /25

2010 Bowman Platinum Patch/Auto /50 and Another Copy

2010 Bowman Platinum Patch/Auto /199 and Another Copy

2010 Bowman Chrome Wrapper Redemption Auto /99

If there is one type of parallel that I’m a sucker for, it’s the Superfractor.  Nothing from a Topps product has looked cooler (maybe the 2004 BCDP Red Refractor 1/1′s) and been so widely desirable by the masses.  The high-end collector loves to shell out good money for them and the lower-end collector loves to dream of owning one.

The 2010 USA superfractors from across the brands have been selling well, regardless of the player or set.  Below you can see a few scans and links to their sale prices. I have to say that the Bowman Platinum patch/auto 1/1′s are very nice looking and kudos to Topps for the quality control on them.

Jackie Bradley Jr. Bowman Platinum Patch Superfractor Auto

Brad Miller Bowman Platinum Patch Superfractor Auto

George Springer / Brad Miller Bowman Platinum Dual Superfractor Auto

Brett Mooneyham / Tyler Anderson / Brian Johnson Bowman Platinum Triple Superfractor Auto

Chris Chinea Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor Auto

Sheldon Neuse Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor Auto Redemption

Christian Lopes Bowman Chrome Superfractor Non-Auto

Felipe Perez Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor Non-Auto