On the signing front

The long awaited catchup from the signing front starts today as we post pile one and maybe soon,I'll get to the other one before yet another gets added!

We start with thanks and they will continue as the post continues.
Thanks to our man in Tennessee,Corey White.
Corey nabbed us some players that we never have added before-most notably Tampa prospect Mikie Mahtook and Delino DeShields Sr.
I have so many of Delino Jr,but this was the first for his dad.Corey also helped with Christian Villaneuva on his Carolina League prospect card and many others from Pensacola and Montgomery.
Thanks as always for Corey's help!

Mike Oravec continues to think of me with various Pirates,Giants and Indians,most notably for me was former Indian slugger Andre Thornton and one of my favorite (if not the) Giants of all time in Chris Speier.
Thanks to Mike for always thinking of me....

The Wilmington Blue Rocks hit Frederick on a night that eventually saw the game rained out.
Bill Cover and I hung around and nabbed Royals first rounder Kyle Zimmer after the game.
Zimmer was very nice as was John Lamb,a once touted prospect on the comeback trail.
Other nice additions were Sam Selman,Jorge Bonifacio and Cheslor Cuthbert.
The coolest of all for me might have been Alex Hudek,who signed a blank for me.
Hudek was born in Mansfield,Ohio and we talked a bit about the area.
Hudek is now with Lexington,so I'll get him on his Wilmington card tomorrow...

The mail added former Padres and Astros infielder and ESPN analyst Dave Campbell.....

A trip to Harrisburg with Derreck and Tyler Chupak brought the Richmond Flying Squirrels and the Giants to town.
We were also accompanied by Brad Adams,which led to a story that I cannot tell (Give me permission,Brad!) ,but still added a cool note as well.
Notable pickups were Giants first rounder Joe Panik (Super nice,signed all I had) and catching prospect Andrew Susac,but one funny note in backup catcher Mark Wagner.
I had sent a card of Wagner around to my traders on various occasions and had always failed.
I had failed with Wagner in Frederick twice,so my experience was not great.
Wagner then walked right on by in pregame without a look and I told Derreck and Brad that this card almost wasn't brought because of its past.
So after the game,Derreck asks Wagner,who boomed an enthusiastic "Absolutely",was super nice and chatted a bit.
Just goes to show you,sometimes it really is about the time.....

The Greensboro Grasshoppers brought the Miami Marlins to town and not a ton of prospects.
Jesus Solorzano and Yordy Cabrera being the best.
Cabrera was a one ,if any and lived up to any rumors of being less than willing with the pen.
Michael Main was a former Ranger top pick as a pitcher that the Giants had obtained back in 2010,so I was glad to get Main on a San Jose Giants card.
Main is now trying to make it as an outfielder and was quite amiable.....

A morning trip to Frederick with Derreck brought a few Potomac Nationals,most notably Michael Taylor on his new Bowman card,but the big catch was ESPN baseball reporter Tim Kurkijan,who was visiting his son who is the PA announcer for the Keys...

The Lexington Legends were next in town with their new affiliation with the Kansas City Royals. The Legends return to town later today,but without a team set,the cards for this trip will be limited.
The big attractions for the series were Bubba Starling and Raul Mondesi Jr and both were very nice and signed well.
Other players of note were Cameron Gallagher and Hagerstown product Christian Binford,who is expected to start in this upcoming series.

During this series,Derreck was in Frederick for the Salem Red Sox and worked on the beginnings of the Salem team set.
The top additions were Garin Cecchini,Blake Swihart,Henry Owens and Deven Marrero.
Cecchini has since been promoted to AA Portland.....

The Reading Fightin' Phils were in Harrisburg and the Senators had released their team set.
Tyler knocked out much of the Senators (more coming in the next signing front) with Nate Karns and the increasingly difficult Brian Goodwin the top prospects.
Top prospect for Reading -Jesse Biddle was the losing pitcher,yet was very gracious in signing after the game.
Biddle is one of the few to be an excellent signer in Low A and still maintain the status in AA.
Brody Colvin was a nice grab and Sebastian Valle signed one as he left the park with a young lady.
Derreck helped me with Anthony Hewitt as he literally chased him down the runaway to the bus.
Nice catch by the athletic Chupak!

My buddy Jason Christensen sent me some bonus cards as well as some help with Akron,Portland and Erie.The biggest pickups for Portland were Xander Bogaerts and Anthony Ranaudo,Erie added Daniel Fields and Akron Chun Chen.
Thanks to Jason for his help and the bonus goodies as well.

Thanks to the Superfan for getting a card that is over 25 years old signed and with a story.
In 1987,I was newly married and in a Family Dollar and found very plain looking cards from Jim Crockett Promotions,the top challenger to the WWF.I bought every pack and never saw another card to this day other than on Ebay.
David got two of these cards signed by Barbarian of the Powers of Pain tag team and a long time favorite of mine.

Whew,that knocks a stack down and a stack to go and more cards to do.
Look for another of these soon!