I have been asked a lot what to trade for when you pull a great or new card. In all reality, there are a lot of reasons why anyone’s advice cant help everyone. Every fan’s collection is in a different state, but here is what I would look for in getting established.

Gold Starting Pitchers

This is the beginning of building up your account. After a while of acquiring cards by buying the 1500 coin niner or other packs, you should have enough to start chasing some of the gold starting pitchers. These guys are the most playable cards in the game, scoring at 2x base points. With pitchers being as valuable as they are, you will likely have to give up a lot to get them. That’s okay. Not only will they help you score more points, but they will definitely help you win more cards and coins.

NOTE: ONLY TRADE FOR GUYS CURRENTLY IN THE STARTING ROTATION – check team rosters to make sure the guy is actually playing and not Joe Blanton.

Duplicates of Top Scoring Guys

Most of the top bunters will have huge amounts of extra commons that they *may* be okay with trading you. I know I am fine trading cards of guys that I have more than 9 copies total. Again, starting pitchers in the current rotation should be your target, but I wouldnt give up your golds or inserts for them. Be patient and find someone who will trade you 1-1 or 1-3 max. DO NOT OFFER 9×9 TRADES FOR COMMONS.

Inserts

I know why everyone wants inserts. They are a status symbol – especially the sigs. If you are new, I would not even recommend buying the 10,000 coin packs when they are available, because you wont have enough cards for that to make a good impact. Once you have your collection built up – then go for it. Realize there is a high propensity you will walk away with nothing, there is no guarantee in that pack. That being said, if you do end up pulling a sig or a top insert like the Pujols 500, make sure you get some nice stuff in return. That means a 3-5 gold pitchers, and a 1-2 inserts of greater quality than Opening Day or Saber Stars. You CAN hold the card hostage, and you CAN wait for something that is going to be better. It isnt a bad thing to keep it in your back pocket if you want to.

To get established, most people will trade their lower rarity saber stars like commons. Same thing with opening day and others. Topps Illustrated are likely the easiest super rare inserts to trade for, so you can get your fair share for not much firepower outside of a few golds.

Remember, DO NOT offer base for sigs. Its just going to get you blocked by that trader.

Silver Starting Pitchers 

This is where the gold mine really is. Because so many people want to keep their golds because it counts SRs on the front page, they will give up Silvers more easily. If you have a gold hitter, trade for silver starting pitchers. Most people will give you 3-4. Its okay to let it go in the name of a better points score. Silvers only score 25% lower at 1.75x Base points than gold, so its still a lot of extra points. I traded almost all my gold hitters and built up a massive collection of silver pitchers. Guess what? It worked like gangbusters.

Sold Out

People like the sold out tag because they know exactly what they are getting in terms of the final card count on the back of the card. Personally, it doesnt matter to me. Im much more likely to want a silver pitcher than a sold out insert of lower quality. You can easily use that to your advantage. Attacking the trading boards to find the diamonds in the rough is what it is all about. Sold out Saber Stars are not those diamonds, but to some people they are. Just be aware.

Trading is an art. I will say that over and over again. If you make a bad trade, dont worry, you will make hundreds more to forget it. Dont beat yourself up, but be sure to learn what the trends are. If you have questions – ask me any time.