Minor League Monday: 2015 Portland Sea Dogs

If you’ve been with me for a while, you might remember the days when this was primarily a baseball card blog. One of my regular features was “Minor League Monday,” when I’d take a look at one of the minor league baseball card team sets in my collection.

Last week’s trip to see the Trenton Thunder inspired me to revive it for the month of August, as I should have enough 2015 team sets to get that far. First up, the Portland Sea Dogs.

The Basics

Team: 2015 Portland Sea Dogs
Level: Double-A
Affiliation: Boston Red Sox
Manufacturer: Grandstand
Number of Cards in Set: 34
Cost: $10 (from the Trenton Thunder team store); $10.99 (Portland Sea Dogs website)

Prospects to Watch

RHP Pat Light (Boston’s #22 prospect on MLB.com’s mid-season list), SS Marco Hernandez (#23). 2B/3B Carlos Azuaje (#24), OF Henry Ramos (#27), RHP Jonathan Aro (#29).

Other Familiar Names

C Luis Martinez (2011 San Diego Padres, 2012 Texas Rangers), MGR Billy McMillon (MLB OF from 1996-2004), OF Blake Tekotte (2011-12 San Diego Padres, 2013 Chicago White Sox), Coach Joe Thurston (MLB IF from 2002-11), Coach Kevin Walker (MLB LHP from 2000-05)

Mascot

Checklist

• Jonathan Aro – RHP
• Carlos Asuaje – INF/OF
• Mike Augliera – RHP
• Danny Bethea – C
• David Chester – 1B
• William Cuevas – RHP
• Keury De La Cruz – OF
• Luis Diaz – RHP
• Reed Gragnani – 2B
• Justin Haley – RHP
• Kevin Heller – OF
• Brandon Henry – Trainer
• Marco Hernandez – SS
• Dave Joppie – Coach
• Pat Light – RHP
• Jorge Marban – RHP
• Kyle Martin – RHP
• Luis Martinez – C
• Mike McCarthy – RHP
• Billy McMillon – MGR
• Simon Mercedes – RHP
• Mike Miller – SS
• Henry Ramos – OF
• Tim Roberson – C
• Jonathan Roof – INF/OF
• Robby Scott – LHP
• Aneury Tavarez – OF
• Oscar Tejeda – INF/OF
• Blake Tekotte – OF
• Joe Thurston – Coach
• Kevin Walker – Coach
• Jantzen Witte -1B/3B
• Madison Younginer – RHP
• Slugger – Mascot

Card Design

The cards are printed on white non-gloss cardstock, with full color fronts and three-color backs. Photos are a mix of game-action shots and candid pictures taken during games or practice. Thirty-three of 34 cards are printed with the standard vertical orientation, with Aneury Tavarz the lone exception.

The design emphasizes the photo; borders appear only on the right and bottom sides of the card. The year, team name, player name and position are all easily readable. The Portland Sea Dogs logo appears in the lower left corner of the card.

Card backs contain some biographical information and stats for 2013 and 2014 (players only).

Coolest Photo

Final Thoughts

This year’s Portland Sea Dogs team set is a solid release,but you can probably skip it unless you are a Red Sox organization loyalist or Eastern League Baseball fan. The team just didn’t have any elite prospects early in the year. (Now, OF Manuel Margot, the #31 overall prospect on MLB.com’s mid-season list and 1B Sam Travis — #12 on MLB.com’s midsesaon list of Boston prospects — make Portland a more interesting team.)

I picked up my set in hopes of getting a few of the cards signed last week… but the night that I went, the Sea Dogs skipped batting practice and I was more concerned about being on line to get Al Leiter‘s autograph than I was about waiting by the visitor’s dugout to catch the Sea Dogs on their way out for the game.