First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors at Topps for providing us with this box.



24 packs per box
8 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): $44.99 - $54.99

Product Description

Hobby Exclusive Pro Debut Baseball, returns showcasing promising Top Minor League players. Each Player is featured on the 2011 Topps Baseball Card Design!

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

NEW FOR 2011
- Now 4 Hits Per Box!
- Now 330 Cards!
- Only One Series!

EACH 24-COUNT BOX FEATURES
- 2 Autograph Cards
- 2 Game-Used Jersey Relic Cards
- 8 Numbered Parallel Cards


CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS

AUTOGRAPH CARDS - 2 PER BOX!
NEW! Side-By-Side Dual Autographs: 2 young talents together on one card with 2 autographs.
Parallel Cards
- Red: Numbered 1/1
- Printing Plates: Numbered 1/1
- Gold: Numbered to 25

Solo Signatures: 14 rising Minor League Prospects appear with a signature, including Cito Culver.
Parallel Cards
- Red: Numbered 1/1
- Printing Plates: Numbered 1/1
- Gold: Numbered to 50
- Blue: Numbered to 199

Debut Cuts Autographs: These numbered cards feature cut signatures from promising Minor Leaguers, including Jameson Taillon.


RELIC CARDS- 2 PER BOX!
Minor League Material Relics
20 players are each highlighted with a swatch from his game-worn jersey.
Parallel Cards
- MiLB Logoman Patch: 1/1 Patch.
- Red Patch: An over-sized PATCH numbered to 5
- Red: Numbered to 5
- Gold: Numbered to 50


BASE CARDS - 8 PER PACK!
Minor League Stars: 330 talented players on the 2011 Topps Baseball design. Cards featuring players making their first appearance on a baseball card are highlighted with a foil-stamped Pro Debut logo.


PARALLEL BASE CARDS - 8 PER BOX!
- Red: Numbered 1/1
- Printing Plates: 4 unique plates per subject. Numbered 1/1. 1200 One of One plates in all!
- Gold: Numbered to 50
- Blue: Numbered to 309


INSERT CARDS - 18 PER BOX!
Single-ATM All-Stars: 45 players who appeared in Single-A All-Star Games in 2010.

Double-ATM All-Stars: 45 Double-A Minor League 2010 All-Stars.

Triple-ATM All-Stars: Another 10 Triple-A 2010 All-Star participants.
Parallel Cards
- Printing Plates: The plates used to create the inserts; 4 plates per subject; 400 one of one plates in all!



WHAT WE PULLED

Base: 163/330 (49.4%)
Dupes: 0
Blue /309 (7): Felix Perez, Nick Castellanos, P.J. Polk, Chris Jarrett, Brodie Greene, Drew Robinson, Salvador Perez
Gold /50 (1): Jacob Turner



Single-A All-Stars (6)
Double-A All-Stars (6)
Triple-A All-Stars (1)



Minor League Materials Brett Jackson Jersey



Minor League Materials Jerry Sands Jersey



Solo Signatures Cito Culver Auto /199



Solo Signatures Ryan Larvarnway Auto /199



FINAL RATINGS

Base - 3.5/5
Design - 2.5/5
Fun - 2.5/5
Value - 4.5/5
Rebuy - 4.5/5

Total - 17.5/25 (70%)

Topps Pro Debut is centered around Minor League Baseball as Topps has exclusive rights to releasing MiLB cards. Pro Debut has players currently in or were in the farm systems of all the Major League teams. The 330-card base set showcases these players on the same card design as you would find in 2011 Topps. There are parallel versions of each card ranging in print runs from 1/1s up to 309.

There is only one insert set broken up among the three main levels of the minors (Single, Double and Triple-A). These cards feature the players who were selected to take part in their respective league's All-Star Game in 2010. The Single-A and Double-A sets contain 45 cards each, while the Triple-A set only has 10.

Each box should yield 4 "hits" on average, split between 2 autographs and 2 relic cards. There are three autograph sets (individual, dual and cut) with parallel versions for the Solo Signatures and the Side-By-Side Signatures. Only one relic set can be found in Pro Debut and it has parallel versions. Also, there are two low numbered variations, a Red Patch /5 and a Logoman 1/1.

Topps Pro Debut lacks ingenuity and originality. The cards (while I do understand there's a theme involved) is simply a rehash of the base Topps design. This means we could see five releases this year from Topps with the same exact design (Topps Series 1 & 2, Topps Updates, Topps Opening Day and Topps Pro Debut). Should they decide to do Pro Debut 2 later this year, that will make six. Instead of allowing Pro Debut to stand out, Topps has made it into a cookie-cutter product. Since more people have an opportunity to attend a Minor League game instead of one from the Majors, why not use a flat surface on the cards to allow for more in-person autograph opportunities before players become "out of reach?"

On the flip-side, there's a lot of value and interest located in each box. The price point is solid and it allows collectors to acquire multiple boxes. The cards have a lot of appeal for set collectors, team/player collectors as well as the secondary market. Even just a few packs are worth the investment as each pack is great for prospecting.

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at Topps for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release. For more information on all their products, visit them today at www.topps.com.