Gerrit Cole & Anthony Rendon lead solid 2011 EEE auto pack

If you want to find autographs from some standout stars of MLB today without breaking the bank, there's one box you might consider -- and it's one loaded with several autographs every single time.

It's 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition.

Houston Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole is just one of the prospects you'll find in this one and there's literally a lot to be found in EEE. You get six autographs per box and every 20-box case includes four Hot Boxes that include 10 signed cards. That's an average of 136 autos per case -- and it's that kind of safety in numbers where can do pretty well if some of the notable players line up in your boxes. And, remember, this isn't an expensive box these days -- if you land a key name on a rarer parallel you could do well for the cost.

Cole, who struck out 15 batters on Sunday, appears on a dozen auto cards in the release with his standard card limited to 500 more copies than that K mark (515). He's 16-5 with a 2.73 ERA and a league-leading 281 strikeouts for a team that figures to go deep into the postseason, if not win it all -- a scenario that will make even his cheapest autos move a little more briskly.

Who else can be found in this one?

Joining Cole in 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition are Anthony Rendon, Francisco Lindor, Josh Bell, Trevor Bauer, Javier Baez, George Springer, Trevor Story, Brandon Nimmo, Nick Castellanos and Manny Machado. All but the last two can be found on standard autos, meaning they have plenty of ink to be found here, too. (And, yes, there are many other guys here who have been hit and miss like Greg Bird, Archie Bradley and Dylan Bundy among others.) There are also a number of insert autos in the product -- with some of these guys top guys grouped together on rare cards.

Let's look at Rendon, for example, a guy who's hitting a league-leading .337 for the Nationals with 32 homers and 114 RBI this season. He's got 20 total cards in EEE and a dozen of them are autographs. His easiest ink is limited to 653 copies -- not impossible at all -- but it also has an Aspirations (/100), Signature Status (/50), Elite Series Signatures (/40), Signature Status Emerald (/25) and several other signed cards rarer than 25 copies. Adding to the mix in this year were ink-color variations, too, giving you a little more to chase.

If you're collecting on a budget but still want to chase some early ink of guys with All-Star résumés -- there are eight All-Stars in the gallery below, by the way -- this one box that's worth a look.

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