Grand Cards: Tigers Gallery & Review: 2010 Topps Pro Debut Series 2

Friday, December 10, 2010

Tigers Gallery & Review: 2010 Topps Pro Debut Series 2

Continuing on in my catch-up of 2010 galleries. This one's a cinch

I liked 2010 Topps Pro Debut a lot. I feel like it filled a niche for Minor League Baseball cards that had been pretty unsatisfying. I also liked that it tied-in the design with regular 2010 Topps, but used the minor league logos and color scheme. A good complement to Topps' normal set I thought.

Well, they continued with a second series, which is fine although by the time it came out the novelty had worn off. This seems like a once-a-year type of set to me. Maybe I just feel that way because the Tigers get so utterly disrespected. 3 base cards, 1 relic (of a player that wasn't even in the Tigers system when this card came out), and the worst card of the year:


Base Set Three cards?!?!

#270 Daniel Fields


#326 Casey Crosby


#371 Jacob Turner


Relics & Autographs Meh & HATE.

#FGR-WRA Wilkin Ramirez


#DC-JT Jacob Turner


That Jacob Turner card is the worst Tigers card that I've ever seen. I'm not kidding, I hate it so much.

But, lest you think that I'm nothing but a Negative Nancy, let me say this: despite the fact that there are only three Tigers base cards in this set, Topps did a fantastic job with player selection. Fields, Crosby and Turner are some of the best prospects in the Tigers' system, and, when you combine Series 1 and 2, are probably the three best players on the checklist. So, while it's a sad little Series 2 for the Tigers, Pro Debut overall was actually a nice set. I'm pleased that they'll be bringing it back next year too, although I recommend consolidating into one series and having a later release date to avoid an early season glut of base-level products. Neither of these recommendations will be followed, by the way.