Ngày phát hành topps series 2 năm 2022
Let’s be honest - I may not be the best at coming up with catchy article titles, but I am a fan of Simon & Garfunkel as well as the Bangles (Hazy Shade of Winter? Someone? Anyone?). How could I not take the opportunity to have a punny title when I spend a lot of my day coming up with bad dad jokes for my daughter? However, I think the title is appropriate since this product is really all about Ke’Bryan Hayes in my opinion. Show
Part two of the three part Flagship release by Topps, referred to as Series 2, which released today (June 11). You can see my preview for Series 1 that came back out in February here. I’ll touch on a couple of different topics, but for the most part I will focus on the Main Attraction, the rookies with base cards in the product. DesignThe base design is the exact same as you will find with Series 1, and you will also find this carried through to Update Series later in the year. My opinion hasn’t really changed since we got Series 1 in hand - I like the design with the exception of the names being hard to read and the disappointment around the independence day parallel which in previous years has been one of the better ones, but not so much this year. ConfigurationI’m repeating myself (my wife is not surprised), but this will be exactly the same as Series 1. Hobby configurations will come in two varieties, hobby and jumbo. Hobby gets you one guaranteed hit - an autographed card OR a relic card. Jumbo gets you three guaranteed hits - one autographed card AND two relic cards. You’ll also get one silver pack with hobby boxes and two silver packs with jumbo boxes, which are some of my favorite flagship cards every year. At the time of writing, hobby boxes are running between $120 - $150 while jumbos are around $230 - $260. I anticipate Topps to sell hobby boxes direct from their website on release day and if they keep with the Series 1 pricing, they will be $79.99. In addition, there will be all the various retail formats including blasters and hangers which have already been on the shelves for about a week now. Additional NotesA couple more items to mention before we get to the Main Attraction:
Main AttractionThe Main Attraction in Flagship releases are the base rookie cards and all of their associated parallels. Collectors typically consider these cards to be a rookie’s True Rookie Card (TRC) and they hold a comparatively significant demand over most other rookie cards. Before we jump into the breakdown of the rookie checklist, a quick refresher on how I roughly think of my Tiers. Tier One - Cream of the crop. Combination of high-end Hit and Power tools that wont end up as designated hitters. Power/Speed combo players. Elite SP1 pitchers (very rare). Potential for being perennial All-Stars and award winners. Tier Two - Bats that may lack in a certain area such as top end power, three true outcomes players, may be great real life/fantasy players, but not hobby-elite. High end SP2 pitchers with additional positive factors such as team, arsenal, pedigree, etc. Tier Three - May have some hobby interest due to a single factor such as prospect pedigree, team interest, general hobby hype, an interesting carrying tool, etc. Tier None - The likelihood of widespread short term hobby interest, and most likely long term as well, is close to none. Plenty of pitchers, catchers, role players, hit tool only bats, defense first players, etc. to be found here. Hobby lottery tickets where the odds are stacked against you. Tier OneKe’Bryan Hayes - Pirates - One of the headliners in the product, he exceeded most people’s expectations when he debuted in 2020 with five home runs in just under 100 plate appearances. High-end defensive and a plus hit tool have never been in question for Hayes and that will always provide a very safe floor for Hayes. Couple that with newfound power and his potential to be hobby elite suddenly takes a large percentage jump. Unfortunately he has dealt with a wrist injury for the majority of the 2021 season which has made it a bit of an unknown on how real his power surge was. As we’ve seen, some of the rookie success stories from 2020 have struggled out of the gate in 2021 and we haven’t had the opportunity to see how that plays out with Hayes. Putting all that aside, there is still strong interest and belief in Hayes from all perspectives - real life baseball, fantasy baseball, and the hobby. And I still believe. He’s the clear number one Tier One chase in the product. Alex Kirilloff - Twins - Along with Hayes, the other rookie headliner in the product is Alex Kirilloff. The 2016 first rounder of the Twins has long been held in high regard with a strong prospect pedigree. Some injuries along the way as well as more recently putting time in at 1B have delayed his debut, but there is a lot to like here. A strong hit tool and above average tools across the rest of the board with the exception of the speed aspect all lead to a good base for hobby interest. An injured wrist this year has made it difficult to read the tea leaves of a less than stellar statline so far in 2021. With health and a full season of play, I can easily see a .300 average in his future. The power should be able to reach and possibly exceed the 30 home run plateau, and hitting in the middle of what has recently become a strong Twins lineup should help accentuate it. While I am not all-in with Kirilloff turning into a hobby elite player, I still think there is a better than average chance which is enough for me to tip the scales in including him in Tier One as opposed to Tier Two.
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