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. Ty France, 3B, Padres — Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas
Baseball America’s highlight line: “If the new Triple-A ball is going to lead to massively inflated offensive numbers, it’s fitting that there’s a player posting one of the best statistical seasons we’ve seen this century. France is now hitting .396/.473/.780 with 26 home runs. He could become the first full-season minor league hitter to top .400 since Erubiel Durazo hit .404 in 1999, and he may do it while hitting more than 30 home runs as well."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 25
First Chrome auto: None yet
One auto to consider: None yet
Buzz’s card take: He's putting up a year that has historic superlatives involved and he's got just one brand where you can find his baseball cards right now, 2019 Donruss Optic. He's got roughly 25 cards there but we're still left to wait on a certified autograph. He should get another MLB look soon, though the name-drop of Erubiel Durazo should tell you how much stock can be put into historic MiLB seasons in the long run when it comes to cardboard.

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

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What: 2019 Leaf Autographed Football Mini-Helmets
Arrives: Oct. 30
Box basics: One autographed mini-helmet per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf brings a new batch of autographed mini-helmets to the masses with a mix of past and present stars as well as new draft picks -- and some surprise helmets in there, too.

Keep reading for more info.

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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. Michael Baumann, RHP, Orioles — Double-A Bowie Baysox
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Baumann came within one out of a no-hitter on April 30. He got another chance last week and, this time, completed the feat. Baumann threw a no-hitter with two walks and 10 strikeouts against Double-A Harrisburg in his first start last week, his most dominant start in a season full of them. The 2017 third-rounder is 3-5, 2.80 with 113 strikeouts and 33 walks in 86.2 innings this year between high Class A Frederick and Double-A Bowie, cementing himself as one of the Orioles’ most promising pitching prospects."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 60
First Chrome auto: 2018 Bowman Chrome
One auto to consider: 2017 Elite Extra Edition
Buzz’s card take: About half of his seriously low card volume is thankfully certified ink so that's good that he has them -- but it's also bad news in that it means there is less stuff for buyers to fight over when he has performances like this. The two products above are the only places to find his autos. In three MiLB season, he's 20-12 with a 2.74 ERA and 262 strikeouts with 259 innings pitched. Those are solid numbers overall mostly fueled by this season's strikeouts.

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

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters this year and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around it's a baker's dozen (that doesn't include Mayfield ... this time).

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A MARIS WITH A TWIST?
The Card: Roger Maris 2018 Panini National Treasures Game Gear Duals (/49)
The Price: $30
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I sprung for this card at a slightly higher price than I might normally do for a Maris memorabilia card because of the small sliver of a red patch that caught my eye but remained a mystery. The New York Yankees weren't known for a lot of patches on their uniforms, let alone any red ones, but perhaps this one came from a sleeve? After buying and then doing some homework, I think the pinstripes led me astray. After receiving the card, I remembered an errant comment I heard years ago -- a rumor about Panini looking at a Cleveland Indians jersey at auction -- and I simply Googled "Roger Maris game-used jersey auction" and found a visual that perhaps answered my pinstripe mystery. Then a couple of cross-searches led me here.The Indians wore pinstripes for a time and it was a time when Maris was there. The colors match and the fabric consistency looks to be right, too. Could this be a sliver of a sleeve patch? We don't get a good view there, but it could be. It could also be something from the Kansas City A's though I couldn't find any info on them wearing pinstripes while Maris was there. It's not definitive -- and it still could be a sleeve patch from a Yankees jersey -- but I think I'm comfortable with my newest Maris patch (barely) card.
Grab a box right here: National Treasures boxes (all sports)

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What: 2019 Leaf Metal Babe Ruth Edition
Arrives: September
Box basics: One Babe Ruth original Yankee Stadium seat card and one other Ruth hit per six-card box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf takes a premium look back at "The Bambino" with bat cards, a bat knobs, a bat barrel and a cut autograph among the potential pulls.

Keep reading for more.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters this year and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around it's a mix of hits and basics.

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A SMALL USA BASEBALL GEM
The Card: Tony Zych 2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars USA National Team Premier Materials Cap Flag Patches (/4)
The Price: Under $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: USA Baseball products have some types of hits you just don't see elsewhere and they aren't all one-of-kind creations, either. Zych was still a college player here but he did make it to The Show for three seasons with the Mariners but he's ultimately not why you see this one here -- it's because it's a unique patch from a cap that's a small version of a larger chase that USA sets are known for. This USA crop in this particular release is stacked between all of the USA ink and mem cards and a strong list of names who have made MLB. Other players with cards like this one in those cheap boxes? Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole, Sonny Gray and Kolten Wong. There are 27 players with these cards, though not all have four copies. Either way, this one is a gem to me as I have always had a soft spot for prime USA stuff. Why? Because I've actually pulled some -- they're far from impossible finds and they're not from high-end boxes price-wise.
Grab a box right here: 2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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FREAKISHLY PRICED ... BUT THEY SELL
The Item: Giannis Antetokounmpo 2013-14 Panini Prizm Purple Die-cut Prizms (34/49)
The Price: $39,999.95 Buy-It-Now 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Believe it or not, this is not even close to the priciest eBay auction for the new NBA MVP and his first-year rarities. Why is this one so steep? It's rare and it's a one-of-a-kind card within a print run of 49 copies -- it's No. 34, his uniform number. A total of 41 active eBay auctions have asking prices of $10,000 or more for a Giannis card. The highest? A mere $189,999 -- see the link below for what that is. Are people buying? Hit the completeds -- the answer is yes. Nothing has hit the $100,000 mark but they are getting close -- and those were back in April and May ... pre-MVP. It's enough to make you shake your head ... and then admire the market ... and then buy a box or case to rip.
Similar Pieces: Giannis Antetokounmpo autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2013-14 NBA boxes

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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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: NBA award-winners, busting a "Trading Cards" pack, big pulls and The National in today's edition.

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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. Deivi Garcia, RHP, Yankees — Double-A Trenton Thunder
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Garcia continued one of the best seasons by a pitching prospect by spinning a masterpiece against Richmond. He struck out the first eight batters and was in complete control the rest of the way. The performance boosted his strikeouts per nine innings to 15.1, the best in the minors among qualified starters. It also tied the Trenton franchise record for strikeouts in a game, which was set by Adam Warren in 2010."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Just MiLB team set cardboard 
First Chrome auto: Still to come
One auto to consider: Still to come
Buzz’s card take: You may remember seeing this guy here about a year ago and nothing has ultimately changed on the cardboard front. He's just 20 and rising in the minors so that cardboard should be coming at some point. He's 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA and a ridiculous 100 strikeouts in 59-plus innings pitched this season so there should be some serious demand once that first ink hits. His few MiLB team sets should be watched right now, too. (There's next to nothing on eBay right now for him.)

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

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Leaf Trading Cards will have three promotional sets up for grabs at this year's National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago as well as a promo card set for VIP attendees.

First up will be a 1992 Leaf Metal set that will be in packs. To receive a pack at the company's booth, one must open a box of 2019 Leaf In The Game-used Sports or 2019 Leaf Pop Century. These cards will be paralleled with a few colors and include the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Kyler Murray, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mike Tyson, Barry Sanders, Hulk Hogan, Stephen Curry, Ichiro Suzuki, Lionel Messi, Daisy Ridley, Harrison Ford, Larry Bird, Conor McGregor and plenty more.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 7.

The box: 2011 Leaf Pete Rose Legacy baseball cards
The cost: Click here (when available) ... here for guaranteed Rose ink right now

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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What: 2019 Leaf Autographed Football Jersey Edition
Arrives: Sept. 25
Box basics: One autographed custom jersey per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf brings the fabric of the game to collectors once again via the blind-wrapped football memorabilia market with "the hottest players in the game, an incredible selection of Hall of Famers, the hottest rookies and some of the game's most-popular fan favorites."

Keep reading for more.

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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. Drew Waters, OF, Braves — Double-A Mississippi Braves
Baseball America’s highlight line: “It’s not like Waters wasn’t having an excellent season when June began. But his .416/.566/.828 June has unquestionably pushed him to the point where he is the most productive hitter in the Southern League. Waters now leads the league in nine major offensive categories including batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.535), OPS (.916), extra-base hits (36) and total bases (147). ... There are 35 Triple-A hitters slugging .550 or better. There are only three Double-A hitters slugging above .550."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 300
First Chrome auto: 2017 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2016 Leaf Metal Perfect Game
Buzz’s card take: This isn't the first time you have seen him here and not much has changed for him on the cardboard front release-wise -- no new ink this year. As said last time, about a third of his autos can be found in the 2016 Leaf release, while his 2017 ink arrives in a number of prospect brands as a pro. He's a Top 100 prospect across the board but the Braves have plenty of talent on the roster -- so it's a good thing he's just 20.

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: Big pulls, The National, Bowman Mega Box breaks, a Topps Total busting marathon, eBay Bucks and more.

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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. Mario Feliciano, C, Brewers — High-A Carolina Mudcats
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Feliciano entered the year with a ton of upside, and it’s beginning to show up loudly and often. He’s loose and athletic both at the plate and behind it, and he has built on a strong May with a blistering June. In nine games this month, Feliciano has swatted five home runs (as many as he did all of last month) and is 14-for-32 overall."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 100
First Chrome auto: None yet
Autos to consider: Leaf's 2015 Perfect Game All-American releases
Buzz’s card take: His ink is basically limited to Perfect Game All-American releases from 2015 and a limited number of autos in 2016 Elite Extra Edition and that's it -- nothing since. Despite this, more than half of his cards are autographs, though he does have unsigned MLB cardboard. He can be found in 2016 Bowman Draft -- his only cards from Topps. In four MiLB seasons, the 20-year-old has hit .253 with 21 homers and 113 RBI in 237 games. Nothing super-flashy on the card front but he's a catcher so the number aren't necessarily a given necessity there for him to arrive. The lack of cardboard  may help drive up auction prices for those who opt to chase here.

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The author of one of the greatest pitching performances in college baseball history already has baseball cards.

He's Kumar Rocker and he's a freshman for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He struck out 19 batters in a NCAA Tournament Super Regional on Saturday -- a 3-0 no-hitter that was just the eighth in the history of the event. If you need a record-book refresher, the MLB record for most strikeouts in any game is 20 and the record for most Ks in an MLB no-no is 17.

The 19-year-old won't be seen on the pro scene for a while, but he's already got a number of autographed cards for you to try and stockpile right now.

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What:

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's got something ready just after the MLB Draft -- a release with nothing but autograph cards for draft-eligible players where every card inside is limited to no more than two copies.

Keep reading for more and a gallery of images.

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What: 2019 Leaf Metal Pop Century trading cards
Arrives: July 31
Box basics: Four autograph or memorabilia cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's annual celebrity release returns on Metal stock once again with some legendary names in the mix and nothing but hits.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2019 In The Game Used Sports cards
Arrives: July 31
Box basics: Five memorabilia cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf takes its In The Game Used brand and opens it up to the wider sports world for a second year in a row as a high-end product that will have nothing but hits and a prime spot at the National Sports Collectors Convention as part of its box-breaking redemption program.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images released so far.

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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. Logan Gilbert, RHP, Seattle Mariners — High-A Modesto Nuts
Baseball America’s highlight line: “His professional debut this year was worth the wait. Gilbert overwhelmed low Class A hitters in four starts to begin the year and has been similarly dominant since his promotion to high Class A. His delivered 12 scoreless innings over two starts this week, capped by Sunday’s seven-inning, two-hit, 11-strikeout performance at Rancho Cucamonga. Overall Gilbert is 3-0, 1.75 with 53 strikeouts and nine walks in 36 innings, with opponents batting just .157 against him."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 200
First Chrome auto: 2018 Bowman Draft 
One auto to consider: 2018 Panini Contenders Draft Picks
Buzz’s card take: He seems to be an affordable Chromw auto -- for now -- so that's a good sign. What's also a good sign is that more than half of his cards are of the certified auto variety. He doesn't have a ton of cardboard for a guy who was the 14th pick in last year's MLB Draft. These all feel like winning variables right now given those stats. You can land him in his college colors with an on-card auto on the cheap in Contenders.

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

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Update: Riley has been on fire since his arrival with seven homers and 20 RBI in his first 14 games, hitting .375 (21-for-56) for the second-place Braves.

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The newest Atlanta Braves rookie to watch is here -- and he homered in his big-league debut.

He's outfielder/third baseman Austin Riley and he went 1-for-3 with a home run in his first game last night, a solo shot in just his second at-bat during a 4-0 win over the Cardinals.

Baseball America ranked him as the No. 22 prospect in baseball entering this season and he had torn things up at Triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .299 with 10 doubles, 15 homers and 39 RBI in 37 games this season.

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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: Topps Now Future Packs, MLB breaks, NFL pulls, Pop Century signers and more in today's edition.

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What: 2019 Leaf Trinity football cards
Arrives: June
Box basics: Five autographed cards per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Trinity is back on the gridiron with three key types of autographed cards with plenty of parallels and new NFL stars in the mix.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery.

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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: 2018 Leaf Metal Pop Century 1/1 Pre-Production Proof Box
Where to buy: Click here

Cards per box: 3
Base set completion: 
N/A
Duplicates: 0

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What: 2019 Leaf Metal All-American football cards
Arrives: June 28
Box basics: Eight autographs per hobby box (15 boxes per case) or 12 autographs per jumbo box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The Leaf Metal Draft dual-box format arrives for the U.S. Army All-American stars and with card types exclusive to each format with everything being rare in both boxes.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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