2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #271-279

 The last 60 cards in the 2020 Final Edition set start here. There are still some big rookies, big Topps omissions, and big trades from 2020 to cover with this set, so let's not waste any time:

Card #271- Austin Gomber, St. Louis Cardinals

One of the more intriguing rookies of the 2018 season, Austin Gomber didn't make any appearances during 2019 for St. Louis, and was brought up in 2020 in order to circumvent the number of injured or disappointing starters that was growing. Gomber had a 1.86 ERA in 14 games, but only four of them were starts, and it was seeming like the Cards were running out of room for him. Gomber would eventually become the main piece in the trade that would bring Nolan Arenado to St. Louis, and has been decent in 10 starts for the Rockies.

Card #272- Jesse Winker ASG, Cincinnati Reds

In the span of a few seasons, Jesse Winker went from a bench bat with nowhere to start to one of the most crucial contact sluggers in Cincinnati. Last year, Winker hit .255 with 23 RBIs and 12 homers. It was a season that would have garnered an ASG nod for Winker had the 2020 game happened. Thankfully, it's looking like that redemption could come this year, as he's having a career year so far with a .349 average, 13 homers and 29 RBIs. 

Card #273- Taylor Hearn, Texas Rangers

Taylor Hearn's sole start in 2019 was a disastrous one, as he was rocked in a span of 8 batters, only registering 1 out, and 4 runs, before being removed. So in 2020, the Rangers used Hearn as a bullpen piece, and he did a ton better. In 14 games, Hearn had a 3.63 ERA with 23 Ks, which wasn't bad at all for an eventless team like the 2020 Rangers. He's still getting use from this team, and though he has a higher ERA, he's still getting reps in.

Card #274- George Springer ASG, Houston Astros

Though his outfield mate Kyle Tucker would have started the ASG in left for the AL if last year's game had happened, George Springer would have garnered plenty of votes, and would be a decent choice for a bench bat. It would be a decision not many people would have much trouble with, as Springer hit .265 with 32 RBIs and 14 homers last year, flexing his power muscles one last time before signing with Toronto. 

Card #275- Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves

Friday we had a lot of cards of rookies that haven't had stellar 2021 seasons. Ian Anderson is not one of those. After becoming a crucial starting arm for the Braves in the regular season, with a 1.95 ERA and 41 Ks in his first 6 starts, Anderson got his first two career postseason wins, and a 0.96 ERA, over three playoff series, as well as 24 beautiful postseason strikeouts. And Anderson is having another phenomenal season so far this year as well, with a 4-1 record in his first 9 starts. Though many sportswriters, including me, worry about Anderson's wrist motion leading to imminent Tommy John, he's still a fantastic pitcher and a gift for Atlanta's struggling rotation this year.

Card #276- Michael Perez, Tampa Bay Rays

In the absence of Travis D'Arnaud, and Mike Zunino's better numbers, the primary starting catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays' playoff year in 2020 was...Michael Perez. Perez came up in 2019, during the period where absolutely no catcher on the Tampa payroll could stay healthy, and was a decent replacement for the oft-injured D'Arnaud. In 2020, he was in the spotlight more, having the better defensive catching numbers than Zunino but still failing to hit higher than .200, despite 13 RBIs. He did hit .286 in the postseason, but was used only as a defensive sub in the World Series. Perez would later be waived by the Pirates, where he has continued to hit in the .100s.

Card #277- Richard Rodriguez, Pittsburgh Pirates

Speaking of the Pirates...how the hell did Richard Rodriguez not have a card in 2020 Topps? Rodriguez has been one of the best relief assets for the Buccos since 2018, and was relevant enough in 2019 to garner some cardboard representation in 2020. But...not the case. A shame, since Rodriguez' 2020 season was another really strong one, with a 2.70 ERA and 34 Ks in 24 appearances, with 4 saves to boot. It would be a preview of Rodriguez becoming the primary closing option in 2021. 

Card #278- Rafael Dolis ASG, Toronto Blue Jays,

Dolis is the second of two players in this 2020 Final Edition set to have both a base card and an ASG card, the other being Jeremy Jeffress. Something about relievers. Anyway, Dolis' scorching season in Toronto would have been enough for the AL to have him on their ASG squad as a reliever. Dolis' 2020 was an excellent comeback season, and it's a pity that he's been struggling so far in 2021.

Card #279- Justin Wilson, New York Mets

2020 was Justin Wilson's second of two seasons on the Mets, and while it wasn't as spotless as his 2019, it was still pretty strong, with a 3.66 ERA and 23 Ks in 19.2 innings. It was a season that got the eye of the Yankees, who signed him for the 2021 season. 

We get the next 9 on Friday. A few people in this batch are having really nice 2021 seasons.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #73-81

It is a new week at Mint Condition, and while I do have a nice steady backlog of Spring Training customs ready to go, I'm prioritizing these Final Edition posts on Mondays and Fridays because I really wanna churn these out. I worked like hell on these, and I'm still on the last 100 or so cards of the set, and I wanna make sure people see them. There's a lot of good ones in this post, too.

So here's the next 9 cards.

 Card #073- Chadwick Tromp, San Francisco Giants

In the absence of Buster Posey, the Giants brought up two of their catching prospects this year. One of them was Joey Bart, the heir apparent who'd been touted by prospects for years. The other was a career minor leaguer from Aruba who'd bounced from the Reds organization to SF named Chadwick Tromp. Tromp was brought up first and arguably fell hardest, with a .213 average with 13 hits in 20 games. While he's still in the organization, it's looking like he'll be spending 2021 in the minors again. 

Card #074- Chasen Shreve, New York Mets

The latest and greatest former Yankee reliever to shift boroughs, Chasen Shreve left the Yanks in the trade that brought Giovanny Gallegos to St. Louis and Luke Voit to the Bronx. Yet Shreve couldn't find his own place in St. Louis, hence the move to the Mets. Shreve did fairly well in 17 games, with a 3.96 ERA and 34 Ks. Shreve was one of the better bullpen pieces of the year in Queens, and definitely outdid his fellow Yankee teammate Dellin Betances. In 2021 he's made camp with Pittsburgh, and hopes to shine up their nonexistent bullpen.

Card #075- Nick Madrigal, Chicago White Sox

While Luis Robert was the big prospect debut for the White Sox in 2020, their other big all-MLB prospect came a few weeks into the season. Nick Madrigal was brought in to cover for Leury Garcia due to injury, only to wind up on the IL himself for a bit. He still got 29 games out of the deal, hitting .340 with 35 hits. He's already come off as a contact aficionado with great speed and defensive abilities, though his power numbers have yet to come forward. With Garcia back, Madrigal may be looking at a smaller role in Chicago, at least for a little bit.

Card #076- Rafael Dolis, Toronto Blue Jays

2020 had a lot of former MLB relievers come back after finding success in international leagues, most notably with Pierce Johnson in San Diego, but Rafael Dolis may have been the most successful return. After Ken Giles sunk with injuries, Dolis was handed the Blue Jays' closing gig. As someone who had notched 37 saves with the Hanshin Tigers contemporarily, Dolis was ready and able to dominate in 24 appearances, with 5 saves and a 3.28 ERA. Dolis was finally valued by an MLB team for the first time since the dire pre-2015 era of Cubs baseball. Hopefully the Jays will continue to get a lot out of Dolis in the ninth. 

Card #077- Miguel Castro, New York Mets

One of the most intimidating relievers in the Orioles bullpen for the past few years, Miguel Castro had a 4.02 ERA over the course of the first half of the season. However, seeing as, in Richard Bleier's absence, he was one of the senior-most relievers still in Baltimore, he was promptly traded at the deadline to the Mets, who needed bullpen help [see: Betances, Dellin]. Castro improved his ERA to 4.00 in 10 games, being a slightly impressive addition to a team who, once again, couldn't be bothered to make the playoffs. 

Card #078- Zach McKinstry, Los Angeles Dodgers

Enough has been said about the Dodgers' pristine farm system throughout their entire history by this point. Even contemporary, getting flashes of Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Julio Urias right before they become team heroes has been part of the appeal. So last season, a guy who could potentially be the next great rookie smash in LA played a few games late in the season. Zach McKinstry popped in for 4 games during a Championship season for the Dodgers, so the stakes were off, but he still hit .286 with 2 hits, which wasn't a bad preview of his contact talents. 

Card #079- Stefan Crichton, Arizona Diamondbacks

After Andrew Chafin was dealt to Chicago and Archie Bradley was dealt to Cincinnati, the next-greatest relief option the Diamondbacks had to rely on was Stefan Crichton, one of two team heroes who was absolutely stolen from the Baltimore farm system. Crichton had a 2.42 ERA in 26 appearances, including 5 saves and 23 strikeouts, ending with a 1.0 WAR, the highest in the bullpen. Crichton is looking at a prime role in the D-Backs' 2021 endeavors, and is a favorite to close. 

Card #080- Mitch Moreland, San Diego Padres

After 3 and a half seasons of being a strong, power-friendly hitter in Boston, Mitch Moreland's achievements outdid the team's, and was dealt to the burgeoning San Diego Padres in August. Because the Padres still had Eric Hosmer at 1st, Moreland was mostly used as either a bench bat or a DH, and he did what he could. 20 games worth of a .203 average and 8 RBIs wasn't a great deal. This being said, he still bat .500 with 4 hits and an RBI during the postseason, so hopefully that's more of a preview of what's to come from him in Oakland this year.

Card #081- Ramon Urias, Baltimore Orioles

Last year had several opportunities for the Baltimore Orioles to preview their youth movement in short spurts. It happened first with Ryan Mountcastle, and then for 10 games it happened with infield prospect Ramon Urias. Urias smoked the ball in his come-up, hitting .360 with 9 hits, 3 RBIs and a home run. Though Freddy Galvis may be blocking him at short, Urias may still leap into the O's lineup at some point in 2021 and surprise people.

Next 9 come on Friday. Lots of big rookies in that post. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Blue Jays (Part One)

The 2020 Blue Jays. If this were a regular season, they'd be a feel-good team that missed the postseason by inches.

However, this is the 2020 season, so they were a playoff team. Which, honestly, was kinda cool. You don't often see clunky little cinderella teams like the Jays squeeze into the playoffs very often anymore. And, thankfully, the Blue Jays were exactly that. A harmless, cinderella team that had a nice little time in the playoffs before losing to the AL Champion Rays in a Wild Card series. It was nice to see a Jays team that didn't threaten me, that I could potentially root for without having flashbacks of those terrible 2015-16 runs that came out of nowhere. 

Like any mid-tier playoff team, the Blue Jays were imperfect. Yes, Matt Shoemaker was able to stay healthy until September, which is a marvel in itself, but right as he was beginning to get the hang of things, he was phased out in favor of some of the new starters in Toronto. He did finish the season with an improved 4.71 ERA, 26 Ks and a postseason start, so...he's still far from as useless as he was in his injury-prone era.

2021 Prediction: Will be a solid fourth starter for a mid-tier team. I think he'll start 18 games, which is as much as the last 3 seasons combined.

 

Coming off of a strong year with two clubs, Tanner Roark was signed to back up Trent Thornton and Hyun-Jin Ryu in the rotation, and he...had a weak year, what else can I say? In 11 starts he had a 6.80 ERA and 46 strikeouts, and a 2-3 record. Not much at all worth talking about.

2021 Prediction: A return to form, and a lower ERA, but...I don't think he'll spend the entire season in the rotation.

Danny Jansen won the catching battle over Reese McGuire, on account of Jansen not being an abuser. Jansen did, however, fail to hit over .200, despite 20 RBIs, 6 homers and some clutch moments down the stretch. He's still a durable, reliable catcher, but he needs to learn to hit for average.

2021 Prediction: By September he's backing up Alejandro Kirk.

Travis Shaw was the centerpiece of the Brewers two years ago, but since his average has fallen off he's looked more mortal than ever. In his first season as Blue Jays third baseman, Shaw hit .239 with 39 hits, 17 RBIs and 6 homers. Not much to write home about whatsoever.

2021 Prediction: Wherever he signs, it'll be as a bench/backup. 

A year after debuting as the lovable power-hitting DH in Toronto, Rowdy Tellez took a step back as the other Baby Jays sort of took over the assault. He still hit .283 with 23 RBIs and 8 homers, but he missed most of September due to injuries, and was missing for the postseason. Despite a nice season, he's gotta win back some goodwill, cause they could have needed him.

2021 Prediction: 30 homers, .250 average, and serious trade talks. 

Speaking of trade talks, after landing in New York for the waiver deadline last year, Joe Panik hopped onto the Blue Jays bench, hoping to get some playing time backing up the baby Jays. An injury to Bo Bichette gave Panik some much needed starting time in August, right before Jonathan Villar would take the position. In 41 games, Panik hit .225 with 7 RBIs and 27 hits. Not to the caliber of his Giants numbers, but not bad.

2021 Prediction: Someone will pick him up, but his days of starting are over.

And in the 'surprising reliever' category, as Anthony Bass did the majority of the ninth inning work, the statistical relief pitching leader for 2020 was Rafael Dolis, the former Cubs prospect who hadn't pitched in the majors since 2013. Dolis had spent the last 4 seasons pitching for the Hanshin Tigers, becoming one of their premier relief weapons, and building his arsenal back up for a return to the majors. In 24 innings, Dolis posted a 1.50 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 5 saves. Safe to say the big man is back in the MLB to stay.

2021 Prediction: Will eventually get the closing gig, get 35 saves and be the talk of the winter meetings. 

I had to split this post in two for the sake of the tags, so everybody who joined this team after Opening Day is tonight in Part 1.