Box Break: 2015 Topps Pro Debut (Part Three)

I broke this box about a month ago, and I'm just now getting to post the final part on the blog.  If anything, that just sums up how things go on the blog.

I'll be honest, despite the fact that is is a cool-enough minor league set, this box wasn't great to rip, and the relics were insanely underwhelming. Yes, it's great getting XRCs of great players, but if I were a hit-based collector, I'd be pretty bummed.

Last eight packs, coming up:

 Pack 17-
Only thing I felt like talking about from this one was Manuel Margot, who's doing surprisingly well with the Padres. Everyone else I hadn't heard of when I ripped the box, though I've been told that Michael Kopech is supposedly a big deal in Beantown.

 Pack 18-
Major Leaguers: 2/8
HIT!!!11!!s: 1/8

 Lorenzen's been relegated to the bullpen, but he still is with the Reds, and he still has that weird pufferfish cheek motion when he throws. Orlando Arcia's been slowly building momentum in Milwaukee.

 So, uh...here's my first auto. It's a sticker auto, because Topps hasn't realized that it's not the greatest idea to do sticker autos. Tommy Coyle had a monster season in the Australian leagues in 2014, which warranted a card here. By the product's release, he'd have moved up to AA...where he has stayed, effetely, ever since.

 Pack 19-
MLB: 5/8
HITs!!!: 1/8
Mets: 2/8

 Backup Catcher A-Go-Go. Plawecki and Swihart were both seen as heirs apparent at the backstop. Instead, Christian Vazquez and T.J. Rivera have been taking their spots.

 Noah Syndergaard, seen here with alarmingly short hair, throwing down...and Trea Turner, still one of the best base-runners in baseball, looking odd in green.

 My second hit is of another-perennial minor leaguer with average troubles, Justin Twine of the minors, or as his signature is leading me to believe, Justin Timberlake. Twine is STILL in A ball, though he is still 21, so hopefully something will happen.

 Pack 20-
MLBers: 5/8
Currently Injured: 2/8

 Tim Anderson's having a less-awesome sophomore season, while Archie Bradley's been taking his talents to the bullpen this year.

 Two injured pitchers got me excited- Jon Gray, also somehow with short hair, throwing down, hopefully ready to get back to killing batters when he returns this year. Steven Matz, who needs to prove his 2015 season wasn't a fluke, also is here.

 Pack 21-

 These two haven't done much in the majors yet, but they still got a ton of rookie cards last year, so...yeah.

 Pack 22-
Major Leaguers: 3/8
Guys I Root For: 3/8

 Lindgren and Biddle are guys I've been hearing about for a while in the minors, and hopefully something good will happen when they come up.

 And then there's Greg Bird.
Having been handed a very, very important piece of Greg Bird real estate recently (and that'll be going on the blog rather soon), I have to hope this guy does well, but he's been slumping so far this year.

 Pack 23-
MLBers: 3/8
Insane Yankee Talents: 1/8

 Three of the best hitters in baseball right now- Kyle Schwarber's been having trouble with the strike zone, but he's still a fantastic hitter. Aaron Judge...is, well, unstoppable right now. And Nomar Mazara's been impressing with a very nice sophomore season.

 Pack 24-
MLBers: 1/8
Philadelphia Prospects: 2/8

 Again, I really dig this insert set, and this one's a hunting-related special uniform...which I guess fits the location?

Annnd these two Phillies farmhands. J.P. Crawford's being farmed as the next Jimmy Rollins, while Alfaro was handed over in the Hamels deal, and is supposed to be a big deal (though he stunk last year in his MLB try).

That was Pro Debut. It's not a great set, but it does its job, I guess.

Box Break: 2015 Topps Pro Debut (Part Two)

Last week I posted a third of this box, and I was not at all pleased with the hits, which were...sigh...a manupatch of a mascot, and a manupatch of a minor league pennant.

This third...will probably be better. Here are eight more packs.

 Pack 9
Major Leaguers: 2/8
Hometown Prospects: 1/8
ROYs: 1/8

Cole Tucker I've vaguely heard of. Alex Blanding was apparently good enough to garner a Distinguished Debuts insert.

 Correa, obviously, is smoking up the bigs and made his debut not long after this card was released. Mark Appel's still toiling in the Phillies minors, and hopefully will show up in a big way for Philly soon.

 Pack 10-
Amazing Hair: 1/8
Major Leaguers: 2/8
Hometown Prospects: 1/8

Grant Holmes' hair. That is all.

Austin Hedges is currently one of the many Padres starters hitting below the mendoza line.

 Matt Imhof's another Phillies pitching prospect (notice how we have a ton of those?). Byron Buxton's potentially having a breakout season finally?

 Pack 11-
Major Leaguers: 4/8
Red Sox: 2/8
Indians Heroes: 1/8

 Jesse Winker's getting a lot of airspace in this product. Rodriguez and Owens are Sox pitchers coming off of subpar seasons.

 This guy, who'd show up later in the 2015 season...he's change the Indians team in amazing ways.

 Pack 12-
I did not know any of these guys.

 Pack 13-
Major Leaguers: 3/8

Not a ton going on in this pack, but Naquin would be starting for Cleveland soon, and Tucker was good enough in the minors that he, too, got a Distinguished Debuts insert.

 Pack 14-
Gold Parallels: 1/8
Major Leaguers: 4/8
Still-Technically-Prospects: 3/8

 Urias is still trying to find his control, Joey Gallo's finally having a nice season, and Brandon Nimmo's doing his best in the minors in Cincinnati.

I saw AJ Cole's debut last year, and he's not bad. Peraza will eventually come up, but he's bopped around a bit.

 This Derek Hill parallel is numbered to 99, which is a nice touch.

 Pack 15-
Major Leaguers: 3/8
Cover Boys: 1/8

Two guys that haven't really made an impact yet, though Mondesi's starting this year.

 Alex Jackson was well hyped, but hasn't come up yet. Addison Russell, meanwhile, is already lighting the league on fire in only his third season.

Pack 16-

Major Leaguers: 5/8

Yankees: 1/8

Lower-tier guys. Sean Manaea's struggling in his sophomore year, and Eddie Rosario's trying to get back to where he was in 2015.

 Albert Almora's starting in Chicago, so he did something right. Hunter Renfroe's not doing as well as he did last season. Luis Severino's off to a fantastic start, and that's a great card.

I'll post the last third soon, as there are two hits left, and these ones are marginally better.

Box Break: 2015 Topps Pro Debut (Part One)

Wellllll...I took a risk.

Pro Debut has given Topps an opportunity to let collectors return to the usually-tricky art of prospecting, by giving them a non-Bowman set that allows them to find minor-league cards, XRCs, of players who'll be huge someday. So, given that now is probably the greatest time for Yankees rookies since the 1990s, I figured I'd pick up a box of 2015 Pro Debut, see if I could nab something resembling XRCs of players I collect.

Yes, I know it's more difficult than that, and if a player's already been in a bunch of Pro Debut sets, it's not really their XRC, but...still...a minor league card of a legitimately cool player is still a decent pickup.

24 packs per box, so I'll do 8 per post. 4 hits, but...I'm not really in this for the hits, as you'll see from the "hits" I ended up getting.

 Pack 1-
Current Major Leaguers: 2/8
Clint Coulter cards: 2/8

 The base set is kinda cool, as it's got more varied border colors than '15 Flagship, as well as having this cool, grayish feel. Coulter hasn't made it p yet, but he managed to snag a Promo Night Uniforms insert (a fantastic innovation),

 These two made their MLB debuts last year...and sort of fell apart after that. Giolito's now in the White Sox organization, and Tyler Glasnow's doing an okay job with a rotation slot in Pittsburgh.

 Pack 2-
Major Leaguers: 5/8
People Who Play for One of my Teams: 2/8

 Refsnyder's not as present this season, but was indeed a Yankee. Jones is having a great rookie year, and Hanson has worked some games for Pittsburgh.

 And a Distinguished Debuts insert from a guy who's thankfully rebounding a bit for Philly, Aaron Nola. Nice enough looking insert.

 Pack 3-
Current Major Leaguers: 5/8
Carlos Rodons: 2/8
MVPs: 1/8

 Before Carlos Rodon came up, there was a lot of hype surrounding him, how he'd be a huge prospect. How that he's in the bigs, he's...a third-string pitcher. Welp.

 Sano's having a HUGE season, one they've been waiting for. Alex Reyes is injured, but will hopefully come up soon for St. Louis.

 ....and this guy.

This isn't exactly an XRC, because he'd be up in the bigs that very same year, but...still, it's a minor league card of Kris Bryant. This is still a very, VERY big deal. I'm happy I have it.

 Pack 4-
Major Leaguers: 3/8
Relatives of Future HOFers: 1/8

 Waldrop's been tossed around in prospect lists. Gabby Guerrero's Vlad's nephew, and he's doing alright.

 Two third-string pitchers. McCullers is having a great season so far, though.

 Pack 5-
Major Leaguers: 1/4
....what?: 1/4

 Jose De Leon, now on the Rays, was the only MLB highlight.

So...we've hit our first, uh, hit...and, uh...

Let's just...let's just dissect this for a moment.

One of my guaranteed hits in a prospect-heavy product like Pro Debut...is a MANUFACTURED PATCH CARD...of a MASCOT. A mascot for a Minor League team. Is one of my two 'relic cards'.

This is a HIT that Topps places into a product to add the value. This is supposed to be worth something.


THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.

What the HELL am I supposed to do with a manufactured patch card of a Mascot? Seriously! What can be done with this?

rrrrrgh I'll move on...

 Pack 6-
Major Leaguers: 5/8 (Welcome to the bigs, Christian Arroyo!)
Yankees: 2/8
Phillies: 1/8

 McKinney was still in the Cubs organization, but would land in the Bronx in the Chapman trade. Peter O'Brien was on the D-Backs...I forget if he's still there. Aaron Nola is, as i said earlier, finding his range again, possibly making a comeback.

 This guy, meanwhile...once he gets off the DL, will be back to his old tricks, I'm hoping.

I'm happy about what Gary Sanchez has brought to the Bronx. He's a huge hitter, a great field presence, and a guy I'd probably hate if he played anywhere else. Glad to have him, excited to get him back soon.

 So...PACK 7-
TWO CARDS IN THIS PACK...


And one of them was ANOTHER Manufactured Patch, this one of a pennant for a team, not even indicating a player, like Henry Owens, who's on the card. Again, it's barely even a relic, because it's a manufactured patch that hasn't gotten playing time, and has NOTHING TO DO WITH Henry Owens, even if he's played for that minor league team.

This isn't as bad as, say, having one of my hits be a manupatch of a fricking mascot...BUT IT'S CLOSE.

 Pack 8-
Major Leaguers: 3/8

Middle of the road pack here- Reed and Conley are struggling for playing time, and Dahl's on the DL, but he's gotta be awesome when he comes back.

Part 2 will be up soon. Hopefully it'll be better than...whatever that was.