On Saturday, Dodger Nation may have been witnessed something magical. It was the first time that many of the Dodger faithful have had a chance to see teenage pitching phenom Julio Urias, and he didn't disappoint.
In his MLB Spring debut against big league batters, the 17-year old struck out two. Overall, he pitched just 1 inning, faced three Major League batters, and threw 14 pitches (9 for strikes). (A video of his performance can be viewed here, via Dustin Nosler on YouTube.)
Not too shabby for a kid who looks like he has yet to grow any stubble.Well, as you can imagine, not only did fans marvel at his abilities and poise, but they appear to have gone onto eBay to run up the prices for his only officially licensed Baseball card.
Julio Urias has only one official card (besides a minor league issue created by the Great Lakes Loons). It is 2013 Bowman Sterling Prospect Autographed Card (#BSAP-JU). Check it out on the right.
For months, you could purchase the base autographed card for about $15.00 each. In fact, I purchased a couple of them for my collection in January. See my post about it here.
Since Saturday afternoon, after his steller performance at Camelback Ranch, that same card has more than doubled in price. Heck, some recent sales show a jump of over 400%.
The last 3 eBay auction sales for his base autographed rookie card have ranged from $60.65 to $67.89. See the spreadsheet below showing the last 13 auction sales of the card.
| eBay Auction Sales | |||
| Sale Date | # | Total Price | Individual Price |
| 3/15/2014 21:38 | 1 | $67.89 | $67.89 |
| 3/15/2014 20:00 | 1 | $62.25 | $62.25 |
| 3/15/2014 19:45 | 1 | $60.65 | $60.65 |
| 3/15/2014 16:17 | 1 | $28.56 | $28.56 |
| 3/13/2014 16:34 | 1 | $12.61 | $12.61 |
| 3/13/2014 14:10 | 1 | $13.51 | $13.51 |
| 3/10/2014 22:05 | 1 | $12.62 | $12.62 |
| 3/9/2014 20:00 | 1 | $15.59 | $15.59 |
| 3/9/2014 19:25 | 1 | $12.50 | $12.50 |
| 3/9/2014 17:59 | 1 | $13.35 | $13.35 |
| 3/9/2014 17:18 | 1 | $11.32 | $11.32 |
| 3/9/2014 17:13 | 1 | $12.20 | $12.20 |
| 3/9/2014 7:51 | 4 | $59.06 | $14.77 |
"Buy It Now" sales indicate a staggering number of the rookie cards have changed hands since Urias' Spring performance. There have been 44 sales since Saturday afternoon, and the price range of those sales denote some volatility. Individual prices since Saturday range from $22.95 to a high of $79.99; with an average value of $41.06. See the spreadsheet below that shows every "Buy It Now" sale over the past several days.
| "Buy It Now" eBay Sale Prices | |||
| Sale Date | # | Total Price | Individual Price |
| 3/16/2014 22:26 | 1 | $41.99 | $41.99 |
| 3/16/2014 13:46 | 1 | $39.99 | $39.99 |
| 3/16/2014 12:58 | 1 | $39.99 | $39.99 |
| 3/16/2014 12:24 | 1 | $79.99 | $79.99 |
| 3/16/2014 11:45 | 1 | $58.50 | $58.50 |
| 3/16/2014 11:43 | 1 | $59.99 | $59.99 |
| 3/16/2014 11:38 | 1 | $59.99 | $59.99 |
| 3/16/2014 11:04 | 1 | $39.99 | $39.99 |
| 3/16/2014 10:45 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/16/2014 10:15 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/16/2014 9:54 | 10 | $379.99 | $38.00 |
| 3/16/2014 7:16 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/16/2014 1:17 | 1 | $55.00 | $55.00 |
| 3/15/2014 21:49 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 21:31 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 21:16 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 20:53 | 1 | $49.99 | $49.99 |
| 3/15/2014 20:49 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 19:55 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 19:55 | 1 | $49.99 | $49.99 |
| 3/15/2014 19:23 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 19:02 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 18:51 | 1 | $37.99 | $37.99 |
| 3/15/2014 18:12 | 1 | $27.99 | $27.99 |
| 3/15/2014 17:28 | 1 | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| 3/15/2014 17:13 | 1 | $49.99 | $49.99 |
| 3/15/2014 17:11 | 1 | $45.00 | $45.00 |
| 3/15/2014 16:52 | 1 | $35.00 | $35.00 |
| 3/15/2014 16:52 | 1 | $30.00 | $30.00 |
| 3/15/2014 16:52 | 1 | $27.99 | $27.99 |
| 3/15/2014 16:52 | 1 | $54.99 | $54.99 |
| 3/15/2014 16:46 | 1 | $35.00 | $35.00 |
| 3/15/2014 15:54 | 1 | $26.95 | $26.95 |
| 3/15/2014 15:52 | 1 | $22.95 | $22.95 |
| 3/15/2014 15:52 | 1 | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| 3/13/2014 20:12 | 1 | $19.99 | $19.99 |
| 3/12/2014 15:17 | 1 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
It remains to be seen if the "Mania" will last; especially when you consider how unrealistic it would be to see him at Dodger Stadium this season, or the next. Still, the excitement is obvious, and I suspect Dodger fans and collectors will not soon forget his name.
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| (Julio Urias, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014) |
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