Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ... and it's one of the biggest months ever.

A MONSTER MONTH ...
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps Archives Snapshots Archives Autographs
The Reason Graded: I've been buying up Bo Bichette cards relatively heavily by my standards -- second perhaps only to some top favorites and people with school ties -- but of all my pick-ups only one was an autograph. These were, I believe, via a redemption and that's how I landed mine -- at least in a sealed Topps top-loader -- and I opted to slab it in a recent submission. (Even though I generally don't grade a lot of autos as I don't want to get a dreaded grade on a card I like.)
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: I'm fine with nines, but this one seemed like a slight bummer as I didn't see anything dramatically wrong with it -- so there must have been a couple of minor issues that dropped it down in tandem. The design here is one that doesn't have a lot of perfectly center-able features ... so maybe part of that was just a judgment call, too.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. Brailyn Marquez, LHP, Cubs — Low-A South Bend Cubs
Baseball America’s highlight line: “The unquestioned best pitching prospect in the Cubs’ system, Marquez put together his best start as a pro on July 25. The lefthander set a career-high with 14 strikeouts, doing so in part with a fastball that touched as high as 101 mph. The start continued a stellar July in which Marquez has whiffed 33 batters in 21.1 innings. He’s also allowed just one home run since May 1."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only MiLB team set cards
First Chrome auto: None yet
One auto to consider: None yet
Buzz’s card take: This 20-year-old is in his fourth season of MiLB ball and his total numbers aren't overwhelming -- 11-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 253 strikeouts in 224 innings. It's this season that has that Ks ratio up so that's a good sign but he's got nothing but MiLB team set cards to chase right now. He should be one to watch once he gets some prospect cardboard in packs but this feels like a long-term watch since he's still in A-ball.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

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Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. DJ Peters, OF, Dodgers — Double-A Tulsa Drillers
Season so far: Hitting .236 with 23 doubles, 29 homers, 60 RBI and 1 SB in 131 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: "Peters remains the same balance of pluses and minuses that he was going into last year, but he’s a lot higher profile now thanks to 55 home runs in two seasons. Peters hit 27 home runs in the California League in 2017. Thanks to his furious finish, he finished with 28 home runs in the Texas League in 2018. ... The power is still some of the best in the minors, and there aren’t many center fielders anywhere in pro ball who can crank 25-plus home runs in a season."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 175
First Chrome auto: 2018 Bowman
One auto to consider: 2013 Leaf Perfect Game
Buzz’s card take: He's got fewer than 50 certified autos so that, along with his homers, could spark some competition from bidders. He's only got autos from this season and then his earliest ones from Leaf Perfect Game five years ago. He's also in 2018 Panini Chronicles where you can find some variety in ink.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Shohei Ohtani pulls, a former big-leaguer's perspective on signing (video), big pulls and plenty more.

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Colorado Rockies rookie pitcher Kyle Freeland ended the first half of the season with a no-hitter lost in the ninth inning -- but a one-hitter was good enough.

The lefty, who was the eighth-overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, racked up a career-high nine strikeouts in what was just his 18th big-league start. For the season, he sits at 9-7 with a 3.77 ERA after his gem at Coors Field.

The good news for collectors? Unlike those red-hot rookie sluggers, you can actually find Freeland's autographs somewhat easily and affordably -- perhaps because, you know, he pitches at Coors Field.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: A Memorial Day roundup of nothing but breaks results.

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Your next big-name New York Yankees rookie to arrive in The Big Apple will face big expectations -- but he doesn't have nearly as much cardboard as those who arrived before him.

Unlike the arrivals of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge -- guys who had plenty of baseball cards and plenty of certified autographs when they hit The Show -- shortstop Gleyber Torres doesn't.

And that could bode very well for collectors who own them.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: 2017 Bowman arrives along with nothing but baseball pulls and chatter in this edition.

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One of the more-impressive feats of the summer in baseball ended on Sunday night -- and you may not have even known it was happening.

Cleveland Indians catching prospect Francisco Mejia had his 50-game hitting streak snapped. It's a streak that began for the 20-year-old High-A Lynchburg Hillcats standout on May 25 and is apparently tied for the fourth-longest streak in MiLB history.

For the year, he's hitting .345 with nine homers and 73 RBI in 351 at-bats.

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Fans of Topps' long-running personalized card program know all about the potential fun of seeing themselves or their young athlete on an official-looking card.

Now it can be an official-looking Bowman card.

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