Recent Pickups: Freddie Freeman, Lucas Sims, Justin Black, FY Refractors

Picked these up at the East Cobb show in Marietta, GA on Sunday:

2007 Bowman Chrome Draft Draft Picks X-Fractors #BDPP12 Freddie Freeman #/299

2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Draft Picks Refractors #BDPP1 Lucas Sims

2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Draft Picks Blue Refractors #BDPP1 Lucas Sims #/250

2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Draft Picks Gold Refractors #BDPP56 Justin Black #/50

2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Draft Picks Orange Refractors #BDPP56 Justin Black #/25

I already had one of the Freddie Freeman X-Fractors but grabbed three more at this show.

Lucas Sims is the Braves top prospect according to both Baseball America, John Sickels and Mike Rosenbaum of Bleacher Report, drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (21st overall) in 2012 out of Brookwood High School in Northeast Atlanta.  John Sickels has this opinion on him:

Grade B+: Borderline A-. All the attributes of a future number two starter. I want to see how he handles a larger workload going forward, but that’s nitpicking at this point. Clearly the class of the system. Went 12-4, 2.62 with 134/46 K/BB in 117 innings in Low-A, just 83 hits. Low-to-mid-90s, good curve and change, throws strikes, athletic. Complete package.

and Mike Rosenbaum this:

6’2” right-hander is athletic with a live arm and little mileage; consistent arm slot and release point; made huge strides in overall development this past season after moving into starting rotation for second half; showcases impressive and underrated blend of stuff and polish; already knows how to pitch at a young age; flashes potential for a four-pitch mix of at least average offerings; pounds the strike zone. 

Lucas Sims’ fastball registers in the low- to mid-90s range; velocity increased a few ticks along with the weather; good arm-side life to the pitch; curveball is a hammer and swing-and-miss pitch; features big shape and heavy downer action in the upper 70s; showcased a quality slider during professional debut in 2012 but relied on it less this past year; changeup improved significantly this past season; flashes average potential in the low to mid-80s with late sink and fade to the arm side.

For more information about Lucas, check out here, here and follow him on his twitter.

Like the Freddie, I already had one of the blue refractors and picked up three more at the show and grabbed five of the regular refractors.

Justin Black was taken in the same draft as Lucas by the Braves in the 4th round out of a high school in Montana. From what I can gather, he has HIGH upside but since he never played in high school (Montana doesn't have high school baseball), he is very raw. Some more links about him here, here and also his twitter.