2014 Playoff Contenders: Oakland A's - Josh Donaldson 2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61

The Phillies disappointing 2014 season is coming to a close. They are in the middle of a last west coast swing which will take them on a rare trip to Oakland.

The A's have had a tough September but appear to still be in line to get into the playoffs which gives us another opportunity to add to our playoff contenders feature.

2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson 

Josh Donaldson may be the least noteworthy superstar in Baseball. He is a WAR darling who finished 4th in the 2013 MVP voting and followed that up with his first All-Star appearance this summer.

His Batting Average has slipped this season, however, Josh Donaldson continues to hit for power. He is also leading the AL in Defensive WAR which has helped him maintain a 7.1 combined WAR which only trails Mike Trout among folks in the Junior Circuit..

2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson (b-side)

I present the flip side of Josh Donaldson's card here to note the position. He is a an all-star 3rd baseman now but he was drafted as a catcher, where he played the majority of his games prior to making it to the majors. The position switch has definitely worked - Donaldson has hit better than expected and he has been a standout defensively.

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects
This is a bit confusing but the first 110 card of Bowman Chrome Prospects are Inserted into 2010 Bowman, while  the latter 110 cards are in 2010 Bowman Chrome. This is all confusing to me and I am sure other colletors.

While I do enjoy following prospects, I am not a real prospect collector - Bowman falls into that weird nether world of stuff I am a baseball fan of, but not a collecting fan of.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Contenders
Baseball-ref 
baseball-cardpedia. 

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson

The American League kicks off their ALDS playoffs today. In the late game the Oakland A's will be hosting the Detroit Tigers. Year in and year out the Athletics remain an unknown to me. One of the aspects of their Moneyball rooted philosophy is the constant changover of players as they age out. This aids with getting an steady influx of young talent like Josh Donaldson.  

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson

JD is coming off a fine first full season with the A's. As the 2013 campaign drew to a close Donaldson emerged as a WAR oriented favorite in the MVP Debate. He played on a division winner and his WAR ranked 2nd to Mike Trout.

Unlike Miguel Cabrera who ranked 4th in WAR, I am not sure of where the source of Josh Donaldson's WAR numbers comes from. His raw numbers are good but not impressive - a couple of top 10s (OBP/SLG/OPS) but no dominant category. He does play in a pitchers ballpark, which likely deflates his BA, HR and RBI but leaves his WAR unaffected. Another component of WAR is level of competition with some good pitchers in the AL West.  

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson (b-side)

There is no position on the Front but the flip of the 2010 Bowman card lists Donaldson as a catcher. I am always a fan of early cards of players as Catchers before they move to other positions. Craig Biggio and Jayson Werth come to mind. There are guys like Darren Daulton that caught most of their careers but he didn't win a World Series title until he moved to 1B. Bryce Harper was drafted as a catcher but was moved to Center to speed is trek to the majors. For a variety of reasons these guys got moved, but typically the early training behind the plate gives them an advantage in the baseball IQ when moved elsewhere.

For The Collector
This card has gone for as low as $1.09 on the Bay - however I suspect it can be found in a quarter box, probably even a dimer. A Blue refractor #d/250 went for $12.50.


Sources
baseball-ref.com
ebay.com