Recently I busted a box of 2004 Upper Deck SP Prospects. They're going for pretty cheap and with the promise of a few hits they seemed like a good deal. The box promised an average of seven hits. Two relics, four single autos and one multi auto.
Veteran base card design
Prospects base card design
Side note: These two guys were the only prospect names I recognized. The checklist is less than stellar.
And now the hits.
Hankins has toiled in the minors systems of the Pirates, Rangers and now Tigers. He's still pitching, currently for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens. At 30 years old his chances of making it to the majors are quickly growing slim. But he still has a shot.
Burns spent seven years in the Marlins system spending nearly all of it in Class A. He had short stints in AA and AAA in 2010 then spent part of the 2011 season playing Independent League ball before retiring.
Coultas spent six seasons in the Mets system never making it above AA. For his final two seasons he transitioned to pitching and put up decent numbers before retiring in 2009.
Steik only pitched in the minors for four seasons with the Padres and Tigers organizations. He never made it above high A except for a very short two game stint in AAA in 2004.
As you can see, the prospect auto checklist is quite lacking. Current Bowman products blow this out of the water. But the last hit I pulled was quite a bit better.
This probably would have been a huge pull back in 2004. While Windsor never amounted to much, Harden was pretty good when he wasn't injured. And Huston Street is still one of the best closers in baseball.
Overall this was a fun box to bust with the number of hits it contained. Despite the lackluster checklist it was worth it for the price.
