Carding Baseball America's MLB Prospects Hot Sheet (Sept. 4)

Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. DJ Peters, OF, Dodgers — Double-A Tulsa Drillers
Season so far: Hitting .236 with 23 doubles, 29 homers, 60 RBI and 1 SB in 131 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: "Peters remains the same balance of pluses and minuses that he was going into last year, but he’s a lot higher profile now thanks to 55 home runs in two seasons. Peters hit 27 home runs in the California League in 2017. Thanks to his furious finish, he finished with 28 home runs in the Texas League in 2018. ... The power is still some of the best in the minors, and there aren’t many center fielders anywhere in pro ball who can crank 25-plus home runs in a season."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 175
First Chrome auto: 2018 Bowman
One auto to consider: 2013 Leaf Perfect Game
Buzz’s card take: He's got fewer than 50 certified autos so that, along with his homers, could spark some competition from bidders. He's only got autos from this season and then his earliest ones from Leaf Perfect Game five years ago. He's also in 2018 Panini Chronicles where you can find some variety in ink.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

2. Richie Martin, SS, Athletics — Double-A Midland RockHounds
Season so far: Hitting .302 with 29 doubles, 6 homers, 42 RBI and 25 SBs in 117 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: "Martin looked much better for Midland in 2018 and is showing signs that he can hit enough to let his glove play. When Martin gets locked in, he’s ripped off some pretty impressive hot streaks."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 320
First Chrome auto: 2015 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2015 Panini Contenders
Buzz’s card take: About half of his cards are certified autographs, so there's a good amount to chase. Interestingly, none of those autos have come after 2016 -- so that's a bit of a bummer if you want to chase him in new packs. It looks like 2015 Panini Contenders has the most ink to chase among those first-year sets, while you can also find him in Leaf Trinity, Leaf Metal Draft, Elite Extra Edition, Bowman's Best and others.

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3. Francisco Mejia, C, Padres (called up today)
Season so far: Hitting .328 with 8 doubles, 7 homers, 23 RBI and 0 SBs in 31 games for Triple-A El Paso
Baseball America’s highlight line: "The version of Mejia that showed up since the Indians traded him to the Padres is the one San Diego had been banking on. After a brutal April and May that was well out of line with his past performance, Mejia has returned to previous form, batting .328/.364/.582 in 31 games since joining the Padres’ Triple-A club."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 1,025
First Chrome auto: 2017 Bowman Chrome
One auto to consider: 2015 Bowman (not Chrome)
Buzz’s card take: He's got more than 400 different autos in all and more than 20 standard Rookie Cards from this season alone (and more to come) so you have plenty of options here. 

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4. Peter Alonso, 1B, Mets — Triple-A Las Vegas 51s
Season so far: Hitting .285 with 31 doubles, 36 homers, 119 RBI and 0 SBs in 132 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: "The Mets made news last week when they announced that Alonso would not be part of the team’s September callups. Instead, he’ll head to the Arizona Fall League. Before that, though, he finished the season with a flourish. In his last at-bat of the season, he smashed a walk-off home run in the last at-bat ever at Cashman Field."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 220
First Chrome auto: 2016 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2016 Elite Extra Edition
Buzz’s card take: About one-third of his cards are autographs and he's had ink the last three years. The power and the team make him one to consider when it comes to cards. Simple as that.

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5. Will Benson, OF, Indians — Low-A Lake County Captains
Season so far: Hitting .180 with 11 doubles, 22 homers, 58 RBI and 12 SBs in 123 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: "Benson’s season was a boiling mass of contradictions. He showed excellent power, solid athleticism and even played some center field in addition to his natural right field position. But although he finished strong, his season overall was quite ugly. ... He’ll likely head to spring training facing a possible return to the Midwest League."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 250
First Chrome auto: 2016 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2015 Elite Extra Edition (USA Baseball)
Buzz’s card take: Almost half of his cards are autos and they can be found as far back as 2015 thanks to USA Baseball cardboard. He may have finished the season strong to get here but that season isn't one Buzz would bank on.

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