Buzz Break: 2018 Topps Chrome baseball cards (mega box)

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The box: 2018 Topps Chrome baseball cards (mega box)
Where to buy: Click here for jumbo, hobby & blasters

Packs per box: 12 (10 packs plus two X-fractor packs)
Cards per pack: 4 per standard, 5 per X-fractor
Cards in this box: 50
Base set completion: 
31 of 200 (16 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Alex Bregman, Miguel Cabrera, Josh Donaldson, Jon Lester, Andrew McCutchen

Rookie Cards (10) – Scott Kingery, Garrett Cooper, Andrew Stevenson, Francisco Mejia. Chance Sisco, Dominic Smith, J.P. Crawford, Jackson Stephens, Tyler Wade, Tyler Mahle

Insert cards: 19 (all inserts and some base in gallery below)
Gold Refractors (1) – Brandon Crawford (/50)
X-Fractors (10) – Clayton Kershaw, Byron Buxton, Andrew Benintendi, Charlie Blackmon, Willie Calhoun, Josh Bell, Jacob deGrom, Yadier Molina, Maikel Franco, Lucas Giolito
Refractors (4) – Dillon Peters, Matt Carpenter, Luis Severino, Addison Russell
Prism Refractors (1) – Addison Russell
Future Stars (1) – Alex Bregman
1983 Topps (1) – Jake Lamb
Freshman Flash (1) – Alex Verdugo

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

What's Buzz-worthy: A Gold Refractor here is a one-in-422 pack find though a Brandon Crawford isn't that flashy. Even with that, this particular box felt more closer to average or even lesser but you can't ignore a find that's one in 40-plus boxes. There were a few stars here but the rookie crop didn't include any of the bigger names, so it felt a bit flat to me. The breakdown of these boxes is virtually identical to last year in the volume of what they deliver with the X-Fractors being the parallels only found in these boxes. Hobby boxes include two autos and jumbos include five and their prices (approximately $100 and $200 a pop at The National) were a reason why I didn't rip in there but gave it a try here. (My wax focus was simply drawn elsewhere.) I've always thought that Topps Chrome can deliver stronger results than some of the prospecting brands in terms of cost-per-auto ratio and if you pull one of the top autos here you're going to win. The color and the inserts are good touches and there are even Superfractors possible in these boxes. As long as you want to give Chrome a try and get a little more than a pack or blaster, this is your best bet -- your safe, solid best bet, though, is hobby with the guaranteed ink.

Product Grade: A-
Box Grade: B (average box saved by the Gold card -- hobby boxes are far safer with ink)
Fun Grade: B

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