With the release of 2011 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks & Prospects, the first 16U USA singles hit the market. Check out some of the cards and share your thoughts on the product.
Matt Vogel Purple Refractor Auto /10
Steven Farinaro Gold Refractor Auto /50
Austin Meadows Blue Refractor Auto /99
Tyler Alamo Refractor Auto /199
Riley Unroe Refractor Auto /199
Dom Nunez Refractor Auto /199
It’s a walk-off. Topps vs. Panini. The twitter and blog game just got real.
Panini released more pictures of two upcoming products, 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition and 2011 Playoff Contenders. It’s great to see that they plan to extend these staple products in the prospecting landscape. The new designs look…well…interesting to say the least. I can’t decide if I like the designs, or they are just a bit off. Team USA Alum Mikie Mahtook is shown below for both sets.
What do you think – YAY or NAY?
Another USA season is starting, which means the USA card license is once again in full swing. Topps still holds the licensing rights, so they planned another schedule of release dates for the Team USA autographs, spread out over multiple releases. While the 2011 Topps Chrome autos (Collegiate) are only in redemption form and the 2011 Bowman Platinum redemption autos (Collegiate) are cheaper than cheap, we finally have the first live and significant set.
The 18U team are once again autos in 2011 Bowman Chrome, featuring a lackluster team of players (arguably so), and the prices are reflecting of this. Two of the best players - Albert Almora and Nelson Rodriguez – are back for repeat USA autographs. The rest of the roster is pretty pedestrian outside of Gavin Cecchini and Addison Russell. The most notable pitching prospect is Walker Weickel, who oozes projectability in his 6-6, 205 lb frame. High risk and high reward.
It might be early in the USA season for sales to pick up, but these have also been fueled by projection and potential. While it was always nice to see some of the players perform on the world stage, the draft hype train pushes them to higher levels. Based on all the variables, we have a low level of hype and few names to really carry the value. It pains me to say this but these are nice to have as more personal collection items at this point. The sustainability and growth just isn’t there, at least until the hype train starts rolling.
The full checklist is below, along with market links for each player. Feel free to check them out and see if you can get your favorite prospect at low prices.
18U-1 Albert Almora
18U-2 Alex Bregman
18U-3 Gavin Cecchini - Orange Refractor Sale: $97
18U-4 Troy Conyers – Red Refractor Sale: $118
18U-6 Chase DeJong
18U-8 Carson Fulmer
18U-13 Cole Irvin
18U-15 Jeremy Martinez
18U-17 Chris Okey
18U-18 Cody Poteet
18U-19 Nelson Rodriguez
18U-21 Addison Russell - Red Refractor Sales: $210 and $205
18U-22 Clate Schmidt
18U-24 Hunter Virant
18U-25 Walker Weickel - Red Refractor Sale: $140
18U-26 Mickey White
18U-28 Jesse Winker
The news broke this week that Topps will be including #1 MiLB prospect, Bryce Harper, in their 2011 Pro Debut product. While the release is an official licensed minor league baseball product, it still should cause a frenzy with fans and collectors. Not only will Harper have a base card, which has an identical design to 2011 Topps Baseball, but they also included one of the nicest looking 1/1 autos yet.
Behold, the nicest Topps Bryce Harper Autographed card….so far:
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