The Futures Game indicates things might be bright for the Cincinnati Reds in the future.

With the bat it was 20-year-old outfielder Taylor Trammell who took home MVP honors Sunday after a day that included a home run and a triple in his two at-bats, while last year's No. 2 overall draft pick Hunter Greene scorched from the mound with his first seven pitches of the All-Star event topping 101 mph and one hit 103.

Trammell, who ranked 48th on Baseball America's Top 100 entering this season, is hitting .295 with six homers and 29 RBI in 78 games this season for the Advanced-A Daytona Tortugas, while the 18-year-old Greene was 29th on that list but has a prominent spot with collectors appearing on boxes of Bowman products. He's 3-7 with a 4.69 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 63 innings this season for the Class-A Dayton Dragons.

Continue reading →

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 ...

Continue reading →

His career stat sheet is a lengthy one, but he flashed some power Wednesday at Yankee Stadium that could lead to some fireworks on cardboard with the most-diehard of New York Yankees fans.

His name? Kyle Higashioka and the only hits the rookie has in MLB right now are home runs. Through the fourth inning of today's game, he's got three longballs in 17 at-bats this season.

The catcher also has more homers in his six games than he does Rookie Cards.

Continue reading →

It's not the flashiest autograph, but it could be one in much wider demand soon.

The ink from Kansas City Royals prospect Seuly Matias can only be found in a single product right now -- 2017 Elite Extra Edition -- and he's a 19-year-old putting up some impressive numbers in Class-A ball this season.

He's got 22 home runs in just 201 at-bats for the Lexington Legends this season -- and that's more ink than he has certified autograph cards.

Continue reading →

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. Jo Adell, OF, Angels — High-A Inland Empire 66ers
Season so far: Hitting .318 with 14 doubles, 14 homers, 47 RBI and 11 SBs in 50 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: “At just 19 years old, Adell is quickly emerging as one of the top five-tool prospects in the minor leagues. He earned a promotion to the California League roughly a month ago and has taken the circuit by storm.”
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 400
First Chrome auto: 2017 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2016 Leaf Metal
Buzz’s card take: He’s heavily hyped and was very pricey when his first Chrome ink arrived. A season like this won’t change that. Bargain-hunting could be tough here — but he’ll also likely keep appearing on prospect checklists.

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

Continue reading →

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 breaks, big debates and the "best box of my life" as we head into the weekend.

Continue reading →

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 ...

Continue reading →

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 9.

The box: 2000 Team Best Rookies Extended baseball cards
The cost: $11 (varies depending on location)

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

Continue reading →

What: 2018 Topps Heritage Minor League baseball cards
Arrives: Sept. 26
Box basics: One autograph and one Relic per 19-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Collectors can turn back the clock to 1969 for a final time this season with this trip down to the minor leagues where baseball's hopefuls get a big-league look on this popular line and one lucky collector will get a chance to suit up on a one-day contract.

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

Continue reading →

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: Busting 2018 Bowman Mega Boxes, huge repack finds and more to start the week.

Continue reading →

Forget the fact that he's a member of the El Paso Chihuahuas ... he's the big dog so far this month in Minor League Baseball.

He's 22-year-old San Diego Padres outfield prospect Franmil Reyes and he's demolishing pitchers right now.

His average the last 10 games? It's .462. His RBI total? It's at 15 in that span. But those are nothing as he's been on an even bigger tear in the last five days.

Continue reading →

If you rip into boxes of 2018 Topps Pro Debut baseball cards at the end of the month, you might find a member of the Fresno Grizzlies on a card that has a little more flavor to it.

It's not just because of that tasty Fresno Tacos uniform -- it's an annual promo night for the team that shows you some of Minor League Baseball's flavor -- it's because John Springstube was the winner of Topps' annual Make Your Pro Debut contest that has let collectors get as close to the game as is possible.

How close? They get pretty much everything except an at-bat.

Continue reading →

The mystery is over.

Topps revealed the two mystery rookie redemptions from 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League on Friday and it's No. 1 draft pick Royce Lewis and No. 4 pick Brendan McKay.

Continue reading →

You may be seeing Rinku Singh on cardboard once again.

Back in 2009, he was one of two pitchers signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Lucknow, India, and their stories of how that happened ended up becoming a Disney movie. But today he joins professional wrestling hopefuls under contract at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla.

No, seriously.

Continue reading →

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 breaks ... and that bat knob wasn't even the best card in the box -- check it out.

Continue reading →

What: 2018 Topps Pro Debut baseball cards
Arrives: May 23
Box basics: Two autographs and two Relics per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Minor League Baseball's stars get the big-league treatment with the 2018 Topps flagship design carrying the colors and energy of the teams before the big leagues.

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

Continue reading →

We all know that Friday is a big day in the film world with the arrival of the next Star Wars film, The Last Jedi.

It's a behemoth we've seen teased on TV and online for months -- and even longer in the toy aisles -- and now that we're days away from its release there's even more to potentially be seen and heard about the latest chapter in the legendary franchise. But, like spoilers, I've tried my best to avoid most of it -- all of the merchandising and marketing that can include everything from food to car commercials and then all that stuff in the toy aisle.

So, maybe it's just my situation -- it's a black hole of sorts I don't want sucked into because there's just too much I'd potentially want but ultimately don't really need -- but when I saw that there was a massive amount of sports-related Star Wars items in one online location I didn't expect?

Well, that's why we're here ...

Continue reading →

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 breaks as we head into the weekend.

Continue reading →

If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales now.

Wave 4 is here and many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye.

2016 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball hobby box
You may not recognize the uniforms here but they're creative -- and wearing them are names you should know with guys like Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins on the checklist. The crop of players here is pretty strong and so is the signers list in a product that takes the 1967 Topps design back to the minor leagues. Atop the signers list that includes Dansby Swanson, Andrew Benintendi, Alex Bregman, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout for starters, they're all on-card autographs here. A couple of boxes should get you a basic base set and a number of the inserts that this one includes. It's a simple but fun break and you can see a sample box here.

Keep reading for four more picks ...

Continue reading →

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 breaks today ... grip it and rip it!

Continue reading →

What: 2017 Leaf Trinity baseball cards
Arrives: January
Box basics: Six autographed cards per box (12 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: This one returns with what Leaf says is the "strongest checklist in Trinity baseball history" with new draft picks and notable prospects that the company says will be "chasing the face of professional baseball for years to come."

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery.

Continue reading →

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 Topps Heritage Minor League baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 18
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 140
Base set completion: 
121 of 200 (61 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Amed Rosario, Mickey Moniak, Nick Senzel, Blake Rutherford, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ozzie Albies, Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, Rhys Hoskins, Austin Riley, Bo Bichette, Rafael Devers

Continue reading →

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: First-week NBA freak-outs and big breaks to ponder heading into the weekend.

Continue reading →

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: Collectors react to Gordon Hayward's injury, rip into new MLB cases and show off other big pulls in today's edition.

Continue reading →

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: 2011 TRISTAR Obak cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24 (plus one jumbo T4 box-topper)
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 144
Base set completion: 
103 of 110 (94 percent)
Duplicates: 7

Notables on base cards – Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Trout, Nolan Ryan, Josh Gibson, Andre Dawson, High Jennings, "Old Hoss" Radbourn, Hack Wilson, Jack Chesbro, Pete Gray, Ernie Harwell, Kennesaw Mountain Landis, Cap Anson, Johnny Vandermeer, Paul Goldschmidt, Gary Sanchez, Will Clark, "Cool Papa" Bell, George H.W. Bush, Whitey Ford, Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial

Continue reading →