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Visit often to discover news about Hot Prospects and Enduring Legends, each collected or discovered in Box Pulls and Breaks by GCF Cards and other sources!
The Journey from Prospect to Legend is Uncertain Adventure
All sports fans know the journey from prospect to legend is a true adventure for each athlete.
Injuries, timing, and even bad luck can seal a prospect’s fate, ripping away the dreams and leaving them just beyond an outstretched grasp.
Did you know that only about 1% of all althletes make it to the Hall of Fame?
The athletes do, yet each begins their journey with eyes locked on the milestones ahead, knowing the achievement of each may someday add to their legend…
GCF Prospect Archive
The Catch!!!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen “The Catch” by Texas Ranger’s Evan Carter!
With Rangers leading 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th of the 2023 ALCS GAME ONE, Houston Astros attempted a rally after Jose Altuve planted his feet on first base. Lance Bregman hit a towering shot into deep center, potentially striking the wall and bouncing awry for extra bases and a possible score by Altuve.
But Phenom Rookie Call-up Evan Carter showed off his insane athleticism by leaping high and making what appeared to be an impossible catch!
©2023 GCF Cards
Altuve had already rounded second by the time he realized the catch was made, and sprinted back to first! In his haste, Carter quickly got the ball to Marcus Semien, whose heads up capitalized on a mental mistake by Altuve – who forgot to double tag up after touching second base!
Even Carter’s teammates were shocked by the play, their facial expressions captured on film and reported on by Sports Ilustrated on Oct 16, 2023.
The play stopped the Houston Rally and the catch proved crucial in helping to the Ranger’s go ahead series win.
Watch “The Catch” on MLB.COM!
So Who IS Evan Carter?
(And why is this card such a great pull?)
Carter is the highest ranked prospect for the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers. Standing 6’2″ and weighing 190 pounds, he called up to the big game at only 21 years old! This outfielder bats left and throws right.
Everyone from fans, players, and commentators noticed early on how calm this call up is at the plate, patient and choosing his pitches like a seasoned veteran. He finished the season batting .306 with 19 hits, 5 homeruns, and 12 RBIs. His insane speed contributed to 3 Stolen Bases, 4 Doubles, and 1 Triple in only 23 games!
His postseason was just as much fun to watch!
Evan Carter is already an MLB record holder, and made tremendous impact on a team struggling with injury and inconsistency. He batted .300 and drew 10 walks, and hit nine doubles in a single postseason.
Did we mention he was still only classified as a Call-Up? He finally qualified as a Rookie in May 2024, and is on the 2024 Rookie of the Year watchlist… dare we say he may be topping that list?
The Struggle He Faces on the Road to Legend
Evan Carter struggled against southpaw (lefty) pitchers in the final month of regular season, and that woe continued into the post season and into 2024. We’re watching to see if his lefty timing improves after his return after the All Star break. Also, his wiry frame could also use a bit more muscle, something an MLB training department and MLB salary will surely add during the next offseason. Thankfully, added muscle mass could also help prevent future stress reactions and fractures.
June 2024 INJURY Update:
After Struggling offensively in Spring 2024, the Texas Rangers revealed that Evan Carter is ailing from a stress reaction in his back. This is concerning, since the rookie experienced a stress fracture in a similar location in 2021. Usually these types of injuries heal stronger, but this recent reaction has placed him on the 30 Day Injured List.
Evan Carter MLB Records so Far:
First MLB Player to hit 9 doubles in a single postseason
Youngest Texas Ranger to hit postseason home run
Youngest MLB player to reach base 11+ consecutive times posteason
Youngest MLB player to steal a base in game seven of MLB Championship Series
The GCF VERDICT on this card and player:
TOPPS Collectibles immortalized the “Catch” event with their TOPPS NOW® card #1004. This popular card had a print run of 1839 with random parallels inserted into some orders. We were savvy enough at GCF cards to order twenty of these cards early on, and sixteen came back solid PSA 10s after grading! Some of these sold out quickly in our eBay store!
We still believe in this rookie, and expect him to make a full recovery, build some muscle mass, and improve his vision versus southpaw pitchers.
Despite his injuries, this kid and his rookie cards are GCF MUST HAVES, he earns a full “WOWZA!”
Out of this World Pull!
The GCF team recently cracked open a box of 2020 Bowman Chrome, and came across this Orange Shimmer BCP243 Jason Dominguez! Only twenty-five of this serialized card exist in the world, and this one is serialized #14/25.
On our “unofficial” grading scale, this card earned an overwhelming and full WOWZA!
But WOWZA’s only go so far, so we immediately shipped it off to PSA for their opinion…
It came back a PRISTINE PSA 10 GEM MINT!
So Who IS Jasson Dominguez?
(And why is this card such a great pull?)
Jason Dominguez is the second highest ranked prospect in the New York Yankees franchise. He’s 5’9″ 190 pounds, switch hits and throws right. The twenty year old plays outfield like he was born for the job.
According to Yankee players and fans, he’s also OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Nicknamed “The Martian,” he is an amazing power hitter. Called up briefly in 2023, he batted .258 in eight games, thirty one at bats, and hit four homeruns out of eight hits. Let me say that a different way. HALF of his hits were long bombs out of the park… Like I said, OUT OF THIS WORLD!
The Struggle He Faces on the Road to Legend
Jasson suffered an elbow ligament injury last fall, and had Tommy John surgery to fix it. We won’t see him play again until probably after the 2024 All Star break, but we at GCF Cards and others belive we WILL see him again and also those and better numbers. This kid is an amazing prospect!
The Verdic on this Card:
This Bowman Chrome pull is well worth the prices currently listed on Ebay (hovering around $3,000 as of December 2023).