Future Watch: Blake Rutherford Rookie Baseball Cards, Yankees – Another of the up-and-coming “Baby Bombers”, Blake Rutherford is a 6′-3″ 195-pound outfielder who was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft by the New York Yankees. Last season he finished out his time in the Appalachian League with nine RBI and a smoking .382 batter average in 25 games.
This year he started out in “A” ball with the Charleston Riverdogs and that’s gone well. He’s been outstanding in the field and he’s managed to get one home run, 17 RBI and six steals to go with a respectable .289 average in his first 142 at-bats. With a stellar .373 on base percentage expect him to rack up some more steals before the season is over.
When you’re a New York Yankees prospect things can get blown up, in a good way, very quickly. When he makes a great play in the field he gets headlines in the Metropolitan area. As he continues to move up the ladder the fact that he was a first-round selection will get people talking about him in the Bronx.
Here’s the scouting report on him according to MLB Pipeline:
Rutherford entered pro ball as a solid runner and a center fielder, but he should slow down as he starts to fill out and most scouts believe he’ll wind up on an outfield corner. Evaluators grade his arm anywhere from fringy to above average, and he could become the type of athletic left fielder needed at Yankee Stadium. He has drawn comparisons to a more athletic version of David Justice, part of New York’s 2000 World Series championship club. ETA 2020.
Here’s a look at him at the plate:
Blake Rutherford has several autographed cards in the market already. One that is currently, really hot is Chrome Prospects Autograph card from 2017 Bowman Baseball. That’s a good way to get him into your collection. Rutherford’s first autographed cards date all the way back to 2012. That year, Panini America included him in their USA Baseball insert sets and products including 2012 Donruss Elite Extra Edition and the USA Baseball National Team Box Set. He appeared in similar products in 2014 and 2015 as well. 2015 also saw Rutherford included on the checklists of Leaf branded baseball card products including Trinity and 2015 Leaf Metal Draft Baseball.
Collectors should be in on him at the get-go because his value will continue to rise from here on in.
Future Watch: Blake Rutherford Rookie Baseball Cards, Yankees – Image Gallery
Future Watch: Blake Rutherford Rookie Baseball Cards, Yankees
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