Do Or Die – Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Austin Rodgers exceeded his rookie limits during the pandemic shortened 2020 season despite playing only seven games on the major league level last year. The Rockies called up the third overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft on August 19th to face the Astros then relegated him ten days later following a 4-3 win over the Padres. Combined with the service time he put in during the 2019 season, that stretch put Rodgers just over the 45 day marker which means he will be officially entering the 2021 season as a veteran.

Collectors holding on to the Lake Mary High School product’s 2015 Bowman Draft card are certainly hoping for the veteran to improve upon his rookie numbers. His short 2020 cameo only amounted to twenty-one at bats during which he struck out six times while recording just two hits. Increasing the sample size by adding his 2019 numbers helps slightly but still not by much. In the 102 plate appearances the middle infielder has made in the majors he has hit .196/.235/.227 with thirty-three strike outs against nineteen hits. It will be hard for the twenty-four year old to improve on these numbers based on his current standing. He is currently the third second baseman for the Rockies, behind Garrett Hampson and Ryan McMahon. It’s not that talent isn’t there for Rodgers. As a member of the Triple A Albuquerque Isotope in 2019 Rodgers had a fantastic year, slashing .350/.413/.622 in 160 plate appearances. That production has just not found its way to Colorado yet.

The lack of production and the long road to the majors has kept the market for Rodgers’ first Bowman Chrome autograph card quite tepid. There have been less than twenty sales of any grade or variation of his 2015 card since the end of the 2020 season. The few raw base autos that have sold have gone from an average of $42.46 of the ten sales leading into the season to a $32.48 average of the most recent ten sales. This average will probably continue to go down as the offseason progresses. It has been six years now since Rodgers was first featured on a Bowman checklist, making him a prime candidate for the Nick Gordon rule. It would not be unreasonable for collector to have lost patience by now.

Overall, Rodgers needs to bounce back in a big way for his 2015 Bowman Draft #BCA-BR card to even retain much value. Those collectors that are already can hold out hope that his small sample size isn’t much to worry about when you factor in his minor league performance. For those that haven’t added the twenty-four year old to their collection, it may not be worth it to start now.