Fast Five: MLB postseason players to watch on cardboard

This one is a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's perhaps something to ponder.

This time? MLB postseason players to watch on cardboard

Shane Bieber -- SP, Cleveland Indians
This year's most-dominating pitcher took home the Triple Crown when the season ended and he's got tonight's must-win game against the Yankees and their top arm, Gerrit Cole. Bieber's got just three Rookie Cards and that makes for some added volatility -- 2018 Topps Update and Topps Chrome Update and then Panini Spectra, which was found in boxes of 2018 Panini Chronicles. Those are also sets loaded with other hobby-favorite rookies -- so they are in demand and not cheap. His first autographed cards also arrived that year in Bowman Chrome, while his first prospect cards dropped in 2017 ... but without ink so there's not anything earlier to truly trump the 2018 stuff. His basic cardboard is pretty cheap big-picture, but his rarities and early autos are not -- and tonight's the night that is a key to them all. If they lose, the hype goes elsewhere. If they win and make a run? Watch out ... "Not Justin" will just get hotter.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

Yu Darvish -- SP, Chicago Cubs
Remember when he was one of the biggest names in MLB? Well, that was eight years and two teams ago, but there is a lot to choose from for one of the NL's top pitchers right now if the Cubs make a run. He's got 20 different basic Rookie Cards and more than 550 autographs since 2012 ... and that doesn't include stuff if you really want to dig deeper with his Japanese pro career. You should be able to find stuff a lot cheaper than the past here ... even with added demand from a successful season this year. He's easily among Japan's best MLB players, so a strong postseason could rejuvenate some cardboard.

--

Corey Seager -- SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
He was a headliner for the Dodgers in the past and he had a pretty good season this year with 15 homers and 41 RBI. His career-high numbers? Just 26 homers and 87 RBI ... so you might say he could have been on pace for a career year for the first-place Dodgers. He arguably wasn't on the level of, say, Darvish upon arrival on cardboard, but he's got even more stuff out there to be found and perhaps not at as quite of high prices as the past. He's got nearly 40 Rookie Cards from 2016 releases and appears on more than 1,400 different autos -- though that is helped some since his first cardboard actually arrived literally a decade ago thanks to some 2010 Topps USA Baseball cards. I also think that Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger have perhaps stolen some of his cardboard thunder ... so you could find good stuff for less than you might expect.

--

Luke Voit -- 1B, New York Yankees
If you had this guy down as the MLB season home run leader back in the spring, you might have gotten some odd reactions ... but that's where he ended up with 22 homers in 56 games this year. Nobody else even had 20 and Mike Trout had just 17 (tied for fourth behind Jose Abreu and Marcell Ozuna) and we know that everybody thinks about him when it comes to cards. The real key here for Voit cards? He has just two Rookie Cards -- 2017 Topps Update and also Topps Chrome Update -- and then parallels and a non-traditional Topps Mini release with parallels there, too. There's just not much there, so they get all of the attention even if he is in the wrong uniform for fans of his current team. Meanwhile, his first Yankees stuff also should be in demand -- his only 2018 stuff is from 582 Montgomery Club and Topps Now cards -- not traditional finds.

--

Ronald Acuña Jr. -- OF, Atlanta Braves
One of the A-list sluggers in this year's postseason is fighting some injuries at the moment, but you could argue that he might be the most due on cardboard (considering all of the money being poured into his stuff) after an abrupt finish for his team last year and with Juan Soto getting a ring. His RCs are in 2018 releases and you can see a rundown of those cards here. He's not cheap, but I just think there's still a lot of big potential here if the Braves make a run -- and even moreso if they win it all. If that happens, he'll be the guy collectors focus on, despite the presence of Freddie Freeman and some other young homegrown stars on the team. The only way that's not the case might be from some shutdown pitching performances.

--

What would you want to see in a future Fast Five? Let Buzz know on Twitter or email.

--

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com