Today marks the release of 2018 Bowman and for many collectors, the chase of Shohei Ohtani in a mainline Topps product.
That means there is only one thing to do!
And that is not open any 2018 Bowman. With hobby boxes going for over $150 and jumbo hobby boxes going for over $350 I have no interest in spending that kind of money on this product. Sure I'll buy some retail because I do enjoy opening Bowman and trying to finish off the base set. But hobby prices are just insane.
I don't want the next MLB prospects, I want the next, next level of prospects. That's why for today, I opened a blaster box of 2018 Panini Stars and Stripes USA Baseball.
This is the kind of product you open up then stash away for a few years to see if any if your notable cards turned into major prospects. I don't think these cards have significant long-term value even if a player does make it to the majors but it's fun nonetheless.
Ok so it turns out there are some current MLB prospects in this set. He's not Shohei Ohtani but he wants to be like him some day.
The base cards are average. The front has a lot of shine and the back has a small write up on the player's USA Baseball career.
The only notable thing about this product is the hits so I'm going to get right to it.
My first hit is an autograph of high schooler Ethan Hearn. It's weird to get an autograph of someone still in high school. At least it's not one of the 15-under players.
Hearn is committed to playing baseball at Mississippi State in 2019. Mississippi State appears to have a good baseball program, which should be a good sign for the value of his autograph.
The last promised hit is a nice jumbo swatch of UConn pitcher Tim Cate. Cate looks to be a Top 50 pick in the upcoming June MLB Draft.
I'd say that this is another decent hit.
Well what do you know, a bonus hit! I think the USA Baseball products have a tendency to have bonus hits so I'm not too surprised.
Jon Olsen, a pitch with UCLA, is one tough SOB. Earlier this year he fractured his face after taking a line drive to the cheek. Less than a month later, he returned to action. Bravo.
As to his skill? He's currently rocking a 2.20 ERA with batters hitting only .200 against. He also has a nice 28:8 K:BB ratio. Last year he did just as well with a 2.86 ERA with batters hitting .201 against him. He also had 80 strikeouts to 31 walks. He should be one to watch.
Overall, outside of the hits, the product is rather "meh." I look forward to keeping track of where Cate and Olsen end up as they appear to be decent pitchers.
It is crazy that high school kids are getting autos these days. I bet it helps with prom. Cool cards.
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah they probably use it for lunch money too
DeleteI've went back and purchased some of these USA cards. It has helped fill the gaps on a few Pirates who weren't big prospects in the minors.
ReplyDeleteI do appreciate that these kind of sets can give players cards that they otherwise might not get
DeleteI'm the extreme opposite. The majority of my collection targets old school guys I remember watching when I was a kid... and hall of famers. I might be more interested in prospects and current guys... if the A's and Padres actually held onto their talent. But they don't.
ReplyDeleteThat's the tough thing about modern day collecting is that you never know when one of your favorite players on your team gets traded away. I love Ichiro but I don't even bother with his non Mariners cards
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ReplyDeleteIt could just be me, but the bottom of the cards look a bit like 2017 Topps. Those jumbo relics are pretty nice, and they found enough room to keep a picture of the player on them too
ReplyDeleteOh yeah I can see how it looks like 2017 Topps. I like the jumbo relics too. For being probably the standard hit, the cards do look nice
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