#CardSTOCK is an ongoing series created by Baseball Cards Daily’s Chris Steuber that details the hobby value of baseball players based on their popularity and performance . You can check out all past editions of #CardSTOCK here. You can catch Chris’s podcast ‘Baseball Cards Daily’ for free on itunes and Google Play.
This time around, we’re taking a look at the players that appear on the line up card daily, but their popularity is often overshadowed by bigger name stars on their respective teams. These are the players who’s consistent and above average play on the field often does not translate to the same amount of love in the hobby that their more popular counterparts receive. Or perhaps they play in a smaller market, where they are beloved locally, but fail to register in the national spotlight until they’re helping their team defeat your favorite team.
We’re showing plenty of love for these six unsung heroes, and we think that you should too!
Until one or more of these prospects make it to The Show and their cards catch fire, 2018 Bowman is the Shohei Ohtani set. The Angels two-way player tops our list as the most desirable autograph to hit in the product, with base autographs currently selling for over $1,000. Ohtani also has a paper rookie card and various colored parallels that will hold steady value even after his true rookie is released in 2018 Topps Series 2.
Robert signed one of the largest contracts ever for an international amateur player last year and is currently the #3 prospect in the Chicago White Sox farm system. The highly touted 20-year-old outfielder’s first chrome autograph and non-autographed cards are featured in 2018 Bowman.
Greene was the second overall pick for the Cincinnati Red in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, joining the team to the tune of a $7.2 million signing bonus. Despite a slow start in Single-A in 2018, the hard-throwing 18-year-old has raw, unrefined potential and is equally potent with a bat. His fastball routinely hits the gun at 100 MPH.
Son of a Hall-of-Fame big leaguer? Check. Headed to the majors before his 20th birthday? Likely check as well. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the #1 prospect in all of baseball and his impending arrival to the Blue Jay is simply a formality at this point. Guerrero Jr. has been flirting with a .400 batting average in Double-A with over a dozen home runs through 230 at bats in 2018.
This 19-year-old Minnesota Twins prospect as drafted first overall in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. The speedy shortstop has produced well in Single-A during his brief professional career, and his well-rounded set of skills should be a welcome addition to the Twins ball club. He has autos in both 2017 Bowman Draft and 2018 Bowman.
Although his impending arrival isn’t likely until late 2019 at best, Ruiz ranks as the #3 best catching prospect in baseball and is the 6th best prospect in the Dodgers organization. His high upside and young age should help his case to take over behind the backstop for the Dodgers when the time is ready. Both his auto and non-autographed chrome cards are his debut in the Bowman line.
This prodigal outfielder arrived a bit early for the Washington Nationals in 2018 and become a household name in Washington D.C. when he became the youngest Nationals player ever to smash a home run at 19 years and 208 days old. The previous record holder? 
19-year-old Christian Pache swiped 32 bags in Single-A in 2017 and appears to be the next-in-line to join the youth movement in Atlanta. 2018 Bowman features his first prospect autographs and are a solid long term investment, as it’s quite apparent that the Braves organization knows how to nurture young talent given the success of 
Hicks arrived in the majors in 2018 for the St. Louis Cardinals and loudly made a name for himself with a fastball that has touched 105 MPH this season. He posted an 8-3 record in the minors in 2017 with a 2.74 era and 95 strikeouts in 105 innings as a starter. What his future in the big leagues holds is still undecided, but this flamethrower’s potential cannot be ignored. Despite being drafted in 2015, his first Bowman wasn’t issued until 2018.
In the overall league standings through 10 weeks, Kevin is currently pacing the field with 29 points, adding five to his total from our previous update. Brandon’s seven points over the last two weeks was good enough to move him up two spots to second. James was only able to add one point to his total, and Jeremy’s five points moved him up a slot for a tie at 3rd and 4th place. Rounding out our top five is Sean who falls two spots from our last update.
An avid collector and former sports card shop owner, Derek was a familiar face to our Canadian Team long before officially joining COMC. Derek joined our Processing Team in late 2016, but the majority of the Canadian COMC Team had already been regular customers at his shop many years prior. Joining the COMC Team seemed like a natural transition for the Vancouver born native.
Verne joined our Canadian Processing Team about two years and has one of the most colorful backstories of any COMC employee. Verne is a former professional wrestler who is still active in the independent scene as a Manager and Agent for 
Having lived his whole live in Vancouver, B.C., Joel joined our Canadian Processing Team in the Fall of 2016. Joel is a loving husband, a Father of three, and a Grandfather to eight who is enjoying his retirement. He stays plenty active in the hobby however, and prefers to collect new and vintage baseball and hockey cards.
Eddie joined our team in early 2017 as the first Canadian employee hired primarily to work on identification and cataloging. He collects primarily hockey cards, although he does confess that a bit more basketball cards have found their way to his collection as of late. The Vancouver-area native has spent his whole life in the area, and stays active through playing sports such as football and basketball.
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