Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

STARTING ON A SERIOUS NOTE ...
The Card: Will Ferrell 2015 Topps Archives Will Ferrell Inserts
The Reason Graded: Back in 2015 this comedy legend took to the field for 10 MLB teams and played 10 positions in a single day of real spring training action -- you can see his stats here -- as part of a project with a charity component called Ferrell Takes The Field. Collectors ended up chasing his autographs on 10 different cards in Archives that year -- roughly one per hobby case if I remember correctly -- but, alas, I went 0-for-1 there before those boxes got too pricy and/or vanished ... but I did hit the blasters. There, the regular Ferrell inserts were found one per box -- at least until all of those boxes disappeared, too. It's been a decade since this publicity stunt took place (March 12, 2015), so I figured we could start this new MLB season here on a serious note. These aren't his only cards -- he popped up a few times that year -- but this was the first set and this was the first card -- and one for my team.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: There's a small volume of stuff slabbed for this card -- roughly all cards here have no more than 10 slabbed copies across the entire set -- and this is among the top marks. This card has full-bleed back edges in bright blue just like in 1965 Topps and when I saw how clean this card was, well, it was a no-brainer. I previously slabbed one elsewhere years ago and this copy will go well with that and a slab of the same photo used on a magazine cover that ended up on a show promo card. A lot of those who likely weren't collecting back then seem to be interested here as asking prices can be steep -- raw or graded -- for Ferrell stuff.

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

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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 ...

KING OF THE RING?
The Card: Elvis Presley in Kid Galahad -- 2022 Topps Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll Pink parallel (/45)
The Reason Graded: I think I only bought one card from what was a Topps Now-style weekly look back at the career of The King from just a couple years ago -- and it was because of the boxing twist you see on this card. Couldn't tell you a thing about the movie and actually don't own a single Elvis CD -- much more Beatles here -- but the visual was unique to me so I grabbed, I believe, a five-pack of this card (likely in a past Buzz Buys) and landed this parallel as a bonus. It had been in my maybe-grade pile for a long time and as part of a variety-packed submission it finally made the cut. Why? How many other Elvis boxing cards do you know of? (I know of one ... this card's photo knocks it out cold.)
The Grade: CGC 10 (pristine)

Reality Check: There's only one other card in this parallel set graded to go with this solo slab -- a regular 10 -- but that doesn't surprise me that much. I don't think this would be that popular with collectors who might grade, but Presley is popular enough to have a ton of card appearances in his prime years and a number of posthumous releases as a giant and an icon of music ... and merchandise licensing, too. I figured I'd mix things up here this month and lead off with something different vs. some new football slabs as we enter that season or the obvious hot MLB names. (There's more NFL to come for both this time and in the coming months for sure.)

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

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There could be a new slugger on his way to MLB from Japan -- and you might already have some of his baseball cards.

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo will posted by his team, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, soon and that means MLB teams will have a shot at signing him. He's a guy who has hit 139 homers in the last four years -- his best season being 2016 when he hit .322 with 44 homers and 110 RBI.

Thanks to the World Baseball Classic, he's already got a few baseball cards that have been found in past Topps packs -- and, of course, he has BBM cards if you want to go further back into the past.

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Hotlanta doesn't just apply to the city this time of year -- right now it also applies to one if its rookies.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a lead-off home run for the third consecutive game on Tuesday night and that was his fifth consecutive game overall with a homer. (And he hit two.) At just 20 years old, he's the youngest to do that in the last 100-plus years and he's the first player since Brady Anderson back in 1996 to open three straight games with a longball. (Anderson did it four times during his record lead-off streak.)

The MLB record for most consecutive games with a homer? That's eight -- a mark held by Ken Griffey Jr. (1993), Don Mattingly (1987) and Dale Young (1956). For the Braves, a franchise with a rich home run history, he's tied the consecutive games mark held by eight players -- a group that includes Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby, Hank Aaron and Chipper Jones. (How many homers does Acuña have in his last eight games? Eight -- just not in every game in a row.)

For the season, Acuña is hitting .288 with 19 home runs and and 43 RBI -- and since the All-Star break (24 games) he's hitting .358 and 12 of those home runs have come during that time. And for collectors, it's also at a time when his Rookie Cards are beginning to regularly appear in baseball card sets released this season.

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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. Eloy Jimenez, OF, White Sox — Triple-A Charlotte Knights
Season so far: Hitting .326 with 20 doubles, 15 homers, 52 RBI and 0 SBs in 73 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: "After an extended stint on the disabled list, the White Sox’s No. 1 prospect returned on July 15 and quickly kicked off the cobwebs. ... He’s already socked half as many home runs (five) in 20 games with Charlotte as he did in 52 with Double-A Birmingham."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 730
First Chrome auto: 2017 Bowman
One auto to consider: 2013 Leaf Metal Draft
Buzz’s card take: If you don't know his name, it's too late to get in on the cheap as he was ranked as the No. 4 prospect entering this season by Baseball America and MLB.com. He was a key in the Jose Quintana trade and that means his present cards will show him in White Sox colors instead of Cubbie Blue as his first Chrome auto does. As long as all goes well health-wise, you should see him in the majors soon. In five MiLB seasons he's hit .306 with 58 homers and 258 RBI in 373 games.

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. Wander Franco, SS, Tampa Bay Rays — Rookie-level Princeton Rays
Season so far: Hitting .339 with 1 double, 2 homers, 11 RBI and 3 SBs in 14 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: “When we ranked Franco as the No. 1 international prospect last year, we knew he was a talented hitter whose offensive ability was well beyond his years. Since then, he’s only gotten better. ... He has a chance to develop into an impact hitter, the type who could race through the minors and get to the big leagues by the time he’s 20."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): None
First Chrome auto: Not yet
One auto to consider: No autos yet
Buzz’s card take: His first MiLB team-issue cards should be of interest when they arrive -- it sounds like Baseball America is sold -- but watch out for other Wander Franco cards out there. They're relatives who are or have been in the minors, too. This Wander Franco doesn't even have his mugshot on MiLB.com. (Spoiler: That's why you see the No. 2 player on the list above.)

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

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The Shohei Ohtani show isn't just limited to his newest cardboard.

A shouldn't-have-been-released copy of his 2017 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Refractor is on the auction block and ends tonight -- oh and it's a perfect black-label BGS 10 version of the card only found in 2017 Bowman Mega Boxes where it was mistakenly released, meaning it's rare on top of rare.

How much is is going for?

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Cincinnati Reds fans may have a new reason to go to the ballpark as soon as this weekend as a top draft pick could be called up at any time.

He's Nick Senzel and he was the second pick in the 2016 MLB Draft out of the University of Tennessee. After today, the cellar-dwelling Reds can call him up without losing a year of contract control -- a move that's commonly been used for top names in recent years, no matter what their spring numbers said.

In Senzel's case, the spring stats weren't earth-shattering -- he hit .286 (8-for-28) with three RBI -- but last season he hit .321 with 14 homers and 65 RBI between two levels. He's been working a few positions in the infield and, most importantly, the 2-10 Reds just lost their starting third baseman to injury.

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The reigning Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year and future Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña gets the nod as the first of an occasional series of graphic looks at players in the game today here on The Buzz.

Check it out ... and chase his autographs here.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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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: Big pulls, big fixes and pondering the NBA's biggest wastes of talent.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2017 Bowman Chrome Mini baseball (factory set & bonus packs)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 3
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 303 (273 cards in set, 30 bonus parallels)
Base set completion: 
273 of 273 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notable players on base cards – Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger (2), Kevin Maitan, Yoan Moncada, Nick Senzel, Alex Bregman, Rhys Hoskins, Ronald Acuna, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Mickey Moniak, Rafael Devers, Gleyber Torres, Andrew Benintendi,, Eloy Jimenez, Dansby Swanson ... and nearly all other rookies and prospects from 2017 Bowman and 2017 Bowman Chrome

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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: Big pulls, big possibilities in MLB and "the world's greatest forger."

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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: One case with eight 1/1s leads off a day of nothing but the breaks.

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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: Big NFL injuries, big NFL pulls and more from the collecting world.

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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: Big pulls, big waits are on collectors' minds in today's edition.

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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: Nothing but baseball breaks and other MLB posts in today's edition.

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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: Big pulls, oldschool wax, The Walking Dead, best retail breaks ever and "is Trevor Siemian the next Tom Brady?" revisited.

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Fans who watch the global game know the name Shohei Otani and now that he's firmly set his sights on MLB -- as soon as next year -- collectors once again have a reason to seek out his cards.

And their shot at some American cardboard of the pitcher-slugger is coming once again.

His only American-made cardboard was mistakenly released in 2017 Bowman Mega Boxes that were only found at Target stores for a brief time early this year. He was originally set to appear on a World Baseball Classic card in 2017 Bowman but when he didn't play, the card was pulled from the product.

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There's a new hard-hitting powerful rookie in MLB this season but you'll have to wait for his first Rookie Cards and battle if you have your sights on his few certified autographs.

His name is Rhys Hoskins and he's a member of the Philadelphia Phillies -- and he's got a record 11 home runs in his first 18 games. That's an MLB record for a hot start as well as a team rookie record for the month -- with a few games to go. He's also homered in his last five games, adding to the attention that comes with such a torrid pace.

Now, about that cardboard?

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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: Aaron Judge, Aaron Judge, Aaron Judge, 2017 Topps Series 2, Superfractors, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Aaron Judge and Aaron Judge. (Something like that.)

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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: Nothing but baseball finds and discussions today.

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If you're a Chicago Cubs fan, there's now one more card that you need from 2017 Bowman. 

Topps revealed on Tuesday that rookie Ian Happ is the Bowman Lucky Autograph Redemption from the popular prospecting product.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2017 Bowman baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 80
Base set completion: 
35 of 100 (35 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Prospect set completion: 
23 of 150 (15 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Chrome prospect set completion: 
15 of 150 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notable players on base cards – Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw

Rookie Cards (7) – Jake Thompson, Gavin Cecchini, Jose DeLeon, Orlando Arcia, Jorge Alfaro, Teoscar Hernandez, Jharel Cotton

Notable Prospects (both sets) – Tetsuo Yamada, Eloy Jimenez, Fernando Romero, Patrick Weigel, Chance Sisco, Dylan Cozens

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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: Bowman Mega Boxes delivering well, retro wax ripping, big breaks and NSCC prep.

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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: Big pulls from new boxes, vintage classics, The National & more.

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