Tag Archives: Kris bryant

SCU Go-Live Report: 2015 Topps Tier One Baseball

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When Tier One first came out, Five Star still hadnt brought a set that featured high end content with on card autos. It was one of the first products to try to get autographs to the forefront of the theme of the set, and it actually didnt do all that much for me. The set was repetitive and had a lot of junk autos. Since that time, the set has evolved, more known now for the Bat Knob cards more than anything. Its a pretty nice set these days, one that I look forward to.

Here are some of the hits up so far:

2015 Topps Tier One Mike Trout Auto SP /30

2015 Topps Tier One Clayton Kershaw Silver Signatures Auto /10

2015 Topps Tier One Kris Bryant Auto SSP

2015 Topps Tier One Bryce Harper New Guard Auto

2015 Topps Tier One Joe Dimaggio Relic

This year’s look is a good improvement over previous years, tweaking some of the main autographs to look a bit more cohesive in the design. They are also looking to add more content of the black background cards with different colored paint pens, which I think need to be worked on considerably. The card design is nice, but the quality of the autograph signed on the card can be terrible due to ink.

As for the Bat Knobs, they are back again for 2015, including some with autos on them too. What I dont get is why companies continually try to prove that you can make a good looking jumbo swatch auto in a vertical format. Stop trying to make it happen. Its not going to happen. The cards look cramped and the player pic is squished into a corner spot that shrinks by the year. Its really too bad, because last year, the cards were horizontal.

My favorite all time subset in Tier One are the rookie reprint and acetate autos that have been a part of the set for a few years. This year’s cards look cool as well, although I am so pissed that they ditched the rookie card look. Last year just didnt have that same appeal to me, and I am sad they went that direction again. The retro was so much more of a captivating idea, as retro cards with on card autographs are always some of my top chases.

Overall, Tier One is structured a lot like how Supreme should be structured, offering on card autographs and some really nice cards in a box that wont break the bank. Its definitely hit and miss, but when you hit, it can be quite the nice piece for your collection.

Is This The Beginning of the Bryce Harper Era?

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Back in 2010, Bryce Harper was the second biggest prospect of the year, with USA cards in a Bowman product where Stephen Strasburg took top billing. In 2011, pending his call up to the Majors, Harper became the top prospect in the set. Over the next few years, he had his ups and downs, but never really lived up to the hype. That has all changed this year, as his play in recent weeks has been some of the most productive games in MLB history.

Check out some of his recent prices:

2011 Bowman Chrome Bryce Harper Blue Refractor Auto BGS 9.5

2015 Topps Gallery of Greats Bryce Harper Jersey Auto

2011 Bowman Bryce Harper Auto RC BG 9.5

2015 Topps Museum Collection Bryce Harper Auto Quad Patch Booklet Gold

If you thought Kris Bryant was big this year, Harper was that big too. The hobby tends to get obsessed with potential, even more so than production. The thing is, Harper is still incredibly young, and has a long career ahead of him. There is a lot of time for him to develop, and there are many people who want him to be the biggest attraction in the game.

Since his time began, he has always lived in the shadow of Mike Trout, who has already notched an MVP and a few second place finishes to boot. Coming up at around the same time, Trout has become the hobby's biggest star, where Harper has found himself on the downturn of his value spike that happened over the last few years. His recent production has brought a lot of value back to the cards, but he has yet to convince the majority that he is ready to take the next step in his career.

Three weeks does not a career make, yet Harper seems to be a bit different than guys like Bryant and company, as his talent has been at the forefront of our consciousness since he socked some towering dingers back before entering Junior College the year before the draft. Now that those home runs are coming back in bunches, some collectors are finally seeing the return they have been waiting on year over year.

The question always remains, is the potential ever going to measure up to the production? If the answer is yes, that’s where we start to see all that value that Trout has achieved. If the answer is no, the player becomes on of the hundreds of players who never really made the impact they were supposed to.

On the Radar: 2015 Topps Dynasty Baseball

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Last year, Topps put a lot of eggs in the high end basket with the first edition of Dynasty baseball. It was a huge risk due to the enormous price tag on the boxes, which only contained one card. However, once people actually saw the ridiculous cards that were coming out of the product with high frequency, the cards caught a bit of hobby fire.

Here are some of the cards which made last year’s product so incredible:

2014 Topps Dynasty Yasiel Puig Jumbo Dirty Patch Auto

2014 Topps Dynasty Clayton Kershaw Jumbo Patch Auto

2014 Topps Dynasty Hank Aaron Dual Relic Auto

2014 Topps Dynasty Mike Trout Jumbo Patch Auto

2014 Topps Dynasty Mariano Rivera Jumbo Patch Auto

2014 Topps Dynasty Miguel Cabrera Jumbo Patch Auto

Topps previewed the first image from this year’s 2nd edition of the product, which looks to be formatted in a similar to what we saw last year. I would guess that the upcoming port to football may use a similar format for that release as well. 2014 Dynasty was mostly about high end autograph subjects with some pretty incredible patches, which looks to be part of the meat of this product again. We are still waiting on more of an extensive preview to see if a bit more variety is added to the set.

Capture

Dynasty was easily one of my favorite baseball sets of the year last year, despite the simplicity of the product configuration. Each card was more beautiful than the next, and the on card autos with crazy patches finally created a format that brought ultra high end into a compatible medium for baseball. It has been a long time since someone has found a way to really produce a product in this tier that has served well for a long period of time.

If Topps wants to continue the success and keep the product fresh for 2015, they will definitely need to make some changes, outside of just adding or subtracting players from the checklist. As a few of us were discussing on twitter, chase elements like knobs, barrels and logomen could inspire a lot of different people to jump on board, and adding more top tier guys could also do a lot of good. That being said, a concise checklist is still the flavor du jour with a product like this, as diluted subjects detracts from the box break.

With Kris Bryant TEARING it up in the hobby, it should come as no surprise that Topps wants to capitalize on his hotness, especially for a set like this. Hopefully other fun additions will be coming too, as other young players have also had quite the hot start to the season. I will definitely check out some singles of the guys I collect, and I cannot wait to see the rest of the preview.

UPDATE – MORE IMAGES ADDED:

Kris Bryant Superfractor Pulled – Repack Products Target Pull?

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Every so often, a player comes along that people absolutely go nuts over. Last year it was Jose Abreu, the year before that it was Yasiel Puig, so on and so forth. It happens frequently. None more than Stephen Strasburg back during his rookie season, but that time has come and gone.

This year it will be Cubs prospect Kris Bryant, who put on a show during Spring Training, adding fuel to an already red hot fire. Recently, his RC superfractor from 2013 Bowman Chrome was pulled, and naturally graded 9.5 by BGS (who would have guessed, right?). It has now been listed for a staggering price, likely trying to attract the big fish:

2013 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant Superfractor Auto 1/1 BGS 9.5

Bryant’s other cards, as discussed previously are similarly insane, and could go higher depending on his potential call up:

2014 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant Orange Refractor Auto /25

2014 National Treasures Kris Bryant Silhouette Auto Patch /25

2014 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant Social Media Auto /10

Its clear that Bryant has talent, but without an official at bat in the bigs, can anyone in their right mind justify spending anywhere close to the asking price? The same could be said about other huge Bryant pulls. The idea is pretty simple – the answer is no. However, with repack products often gaining more traction in the marketplace by buying up these cards for their runs, things could get pretty competitive between the few that are out there.

Last year’s Jose Abreu Superfractor auto was bought in this manner, soemthing that didnt come as a surprise. Yasiel Puig's biggest pulls were also a repack target all year. This practice, a great marketing tool, was started by Brian Gray’s purchase of the Strasburg Superfractor for his Best of Baseball type products. It helps to move product when collectors can potentially get a card that could pay off their car or part of their mortgage.

I dont see a regular collector buying in at this point, unless this type of money is pocket change to them. Yes, those people still exist. At the same time, this chase by the repack companies is something that should be interesting. It rarely used to happen that big pulls could be moved without fear of having some sort of buyers remorse, but with Repack companies involved, that element is likely removed. Its quite a good thing.

Kris Bryant may or may not have the career people are expecting, but items like this rarely come around. Savor it while you can.