Part of my collection is acquiring the first card–generally, the first minor league issued–of prominent Cleveland Guardians players. I was happy to add these two over the weekend. Mostly happy.
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2016 Choice Pulaski Yankees #12 Estevan Florial. Florial, a former top prospect for the New York Yankees, opened the season with Cleveland. While he had a decent first month, Florial struggled at the plate since and was dropped from the 26-man roster in May. He made it through waivers and is now playing at AAA-Columbus. This card has been tough to find, so when I saw this card pop up I jumped. I prefer these cards not autographed, but beggars can’t be choosers.
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2018 Grandstand Helena Brewers David Fry. Utility player David Fry was traded by the Brewers to the Guardians in 2022 in exchange for pitcher J.C. Mejia. In limited action this season, Fry has been one of the best hitters on team, with a 1.063 OPS (206 OPS+) as of early June. A former 7th round pick, he has some prospect pedigree along with a history of good minor-league numbers–so hopefully this isn’t just a scalding hot run. This card was impossible to find as a single, so I had to buy the set to get it–which was not cheap. But I worry that if I didn’t jump, it would become another hard-to-find MiLB card.