DraftKings, Metabilia and Joe Musgrove Revolutionizing NFTs with Unique Utility

Joe Musgrove has already written his name forever in the Padres’ franchise record book, and the 29-year-old is just getting started. He recently signed a long-term deal that will keep him in San Diego through the 2027 season, and the Friars are set to build their rotation around this local product for years to come.

Musgrove is one of the top young pitchers in the game, and he’s the next athlete to be featured in DraftKings’ collaboration with Metabilia to produce Membership NFTs for the game’s brightest rising stars. You can check out all the details at the bottom of this post, and be ready for the Founder drops coming up later this month.

The journey that has taken Musgrove to this point in his career hasn’t been a straight line, and he ended up coming home to find his greatest success. He was born and raised in El Cajon, California, a suburb of San Diego, where his father was a policeman and private detective. Musgrove was one of four children and started playing competitive tournament baseball at the age of seven.

In High School, Musgrove was a two-way star for the Grossmont High School Foothillers. As a Junior, he went 11-1 with a 2.07 ERA while also hitting .430 with nine home runs. The next year as a Senior, his overall production dipped a little, but he was able to pile up 100 strikeouts in just 78 ²⁄₃ innings while hitting .350 with nine more homers. Due to that success in High School, he was recruited and planned to attend San Diego State. However, he chose to forgo that commitment after being drafted in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays at No. 46 overall.

The Blue Jays only had Musgrove in the system for just over a year before trading him to the Houston Astros as part of a 10-player deal. The trade was headlined by Francisco Cordero and JA Happ at the major league level but also included several prospects going each way. In his first few seasons with the Astros, Musgrove battled multiple arm injuries, but then he started to emerge as a top prospect in 2015, earning the Astros’ 2015 Minor League Pitcher of the Year award by going 12-1 with three teams in Single-A and Double-A, posting a combined 1.88 ERA and 0.924 WHIP while totaling 99 strikeouts in his 100 ²⁄₃ innings.

Musgrove reached the Majors in 2016 as a 23-year-old and made 11 appearances, going 4-4 with a 4.06 ERA, 4.18 FIP and 55 strikeouts in 62 innings. The next year, Musgrove played virtually the whole season in Houston, working mainly out of the bullpen and helping the team to claim the division title and make just their second playoff appearance in 12 seasons. Musgrove continued to be a key bullpen arm in the postseason as well, pitching 6 ²⁄₃ innings across seven games, including four games in the World Series against the Dodgers. He got the win in Game 5 with a scoreless 10th inning and ultimately helped the team claim the only World Series championship in franchise history.

The following season, though, Musgrove was shipped to Pittsburgh as a part of the package that brought Gerrit Cole to Houston. Musgrove was solid for his three seasons with the Pirates but didn’t get much run support or play on competitive teams. He went 18-26 in his 59 games for Pittsburgh, compiling a 4.23 ERA, 3.69 FIP and 8.63 K/9 rate. His strikeout rate spiked during the abbreviated 2020 season, when he fanned 55 batters in just 39 ⅔ innings over eight starts. His improved command and pitch mix made him especially effective against left-handed hitters, and he continues to produce strong reverse splits.

In January of 2021, Musgrove returned to California to play for his hometown team after heading to the Padres as part of a three-way trade that sent several lower-level prospects to the Pirates and Joey Lucchesi to the New York Mets. Musgrove immediately responded to the change of scenery and didn’t take long to indelibly add his name to San Diego’s history books.

In just his second start for the Padres, Musgrove threw the first and only no-hitter in franchise history. He struck out 10 batters in his signature performance while blanking the Rangers and only falling one hit-by-pitch short of a perfect game. Musgrove only needed 112 pitches to get the job done, and as the game went on, he relied more and more heavily on his breaking pitches. He blended his slider, sinker and cut fastball with a few changeups and didn’t throw any straight fastballs in 50 pitches over the final four innings. On his way to the no-hitter, Musgrove continued his routine of chewing one piece of bubble gum between each inning, which he laid out before the game, and also continued to drink a lot of water. After the game, he reported that he drank 11 to 12 bottles of water on his way to the best outing in franchise history. Prior to Musgrove’s dominant outing, the Padres were the only team in the Major Leagues to not have thrown a no-hitter in franchise history and established the record for most games played before throwing a no-hitter with 8,205 regular-season games and 40 postseason games prior to Musgrove’s no-no.

Musgrove built on the momentum of his no-hitter and led the Padres’ rotation in wins, ERA and strikeouts in 2021, going 11-9 with a personal-best 3.18 ERA supported by a 3.70 FIP and 10.08 K/9. He also had a strong start to the 2022 season, and the Padres rewarded him with a five-year, $100 million extension that was announced on August 1, 2022.

The next day after locking up Musgrove, the Padres acquired Juan Soto and Josh Bell in a megadeal with the Nationals. After adding those two top-tier bats to an already strong young core, the Padres are poised to contend for their first World Series championship in the coming years, and Musgrove will be a huge part of their rotation as they do.

You can take this opportunity to grab a piece of his journey with DraftKings’ and Metabilia’s unique Member NFTs. Learn more about the functionality and utility of the NFTs in the FAQ below.

When is the Athlete Member NFT Drop?

We will be issuing Joe Musgrove Founders Class NFTs on DraftKings Marketplace at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 25th, 2022.

What are Athlete Member NFTs?

Athlete Member NFTs allow a user to share in an athlete’s journey and access historic game-used gear and autographed memorabilia.

Member Pass NFT holders receive:

• Airdropped Event NFTs celebrating athlete milestones.
• Access to game-used items.
• Access to discounted limited edition autographed memorabilia.

What utility do Member NFTs have?

Users who hold Member NFTs at designated snapshot times will receive airdropped Event NFTs on DraftKings Marketplace. Separately, users will receive access to purchase unique game-used items and autographed memorabilia, as well as gated access to private Discord appearances available through Metabilia.io.

What are Athlete Event NFTs?

An Event NFT will commemorate a noteworthy event or occurrence in the Athlete’s career or life and celebrate the achievements of the Athlete. Holders of Green Member NFTs will be airdropped corresponding Green Event NFTs. The same rules apply to Platinum and Black Metabilia™ Members.

What are One4One™ NFTs?

A One4One NFT is a non-fungible token that denotes ownership of a unique memorabilia item. This item may be game-used, autographed, or both. A holder of One4One™ NFTs at the snapshot date may claim the item, at which point the item will be shipped to the holder from Metabilia.

What are Founders Class Member NFTs?

They are the first series of member NFTs issued for an athlete and have the smallest mint counts.

Will there be more Member NFTs in the future?

The Athlete may choose to issue additional series of Metabilia™ Member NFTs (Series I, Series II…). There will not be additional Founder Class Member NFTs released for each athlete.

Learn More:

For more information on Athlete Member NFTs, visit Metabilia.io. And don’t forget to check out the DraftKings Marketplace to obtain previously released membership passes from notable athletes like Josh Allen, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and More!

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Join the DraftKings Discord here for updates on upcoming, live and past drops.

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