Buzz Break: 2020 Topps Mini baseball cards

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The pack: 2020 Topps Mini baseball cards
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Cards per pack: 35 (all in gallery below)
Base set completion: 
30 of 1,000 (3 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards: Notables include Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Albert Pujols, Mark McGwire, Justin Verlander, Anthony Rizzo, Walker Buehler

Rookie Cards (4) — Dylan Cease, Danny Mendick, Frank Schwindel, Aaron Civile

Insert cards: 5
1985 Topps (2) — Mike Trout, Xander Bogaerts
1985 Topps Pink parallel (1) — Lou Brock (/25)
Pink parallel (2) — Kyle Tucker, Sonny Gray (/25)

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: I'm a sucker for minis -- but more for tobacco-sized cards -- but this is a near-annual release that I have done well with in the last decade or so so I grabbed one of these when I spotted it on sale. Why? A big set with a lot of rookies -- that first part makes them tougher pulls, though -- and then a small number of lower-volume numbered cards every time. This one? Not the best batch of rare finds but a Hall of Famer and a couple of Trout appearances made this a decent but not A-level box. ... You get just 30 base cards from a 1,000-card set here -- a mix of Series 1, Series 2 and Update -- and that makes pulling any one card pretty tough from a single pack. That's a move that can make for some dry runs but also should help values here a little. These were released under the 2020 Topps On Demand lineup -- set No. 23 for the year -- and 13,401 packs were ordered and made, which is  up from 9,700 the previous year. Some rough math would indicate there are around 400 copies per base card here, which is a pretty good number. I wish I had pulled some more notables on the RC front -- those might be the best chase here -- but even the established stars should have some demand given the low volume and non-traditional way these were distributed. The parallels will have more heat of course, but watch for surface or corner issues as those cards are on top of the packs while the 1985 inserts are on the bottom. The wrappers are relatively loose so the cards might slide around a little more than normal, too. I had better packs here in the past but this one still wasn't bad with a sale price. At its present price, the misses will be a little stiffer but there's still decent enough volume and potential here to find some strong stuff.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: B+ (two Trouts and a Pink Hall of Famer help here but nothing felt big enough to get it to an A)
Fun Grade: B (single pack and big checklist can mean lean rips)

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