Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun ... or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

WORKS FOR ME
The Card: Dan Marino 1984 Topps #123 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I never really aspired to own a Dan Marino RC -- or a number of other notables from the past -- but this one presented itself on the cheaper side of things for this card (about $135) and considering how this one looks I grabbed it. Why? Go window-shopping for these cards raw -- it can be depressing to see how sloppy the printing and cutting can be for this set. (Want more proof of extreme possibilites? Click here.)
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: I knew this was a strong grade for this card but I didn't look at the pop report for this heavily graded and iconic Hall of Famer RC. Just 415 check in at a higher mark out of nearly 9,000 graded -- less than 5 percent of the total grade higher -- and this one accounts for just seven percent of the total population for this card. My card isn't perfect -- there's a minor couple of spots in the black border line above "Dan" and some very, very minor specs here and there on the edges but at a glance there are not massive differences here vs. higher grades ... other than the fact that a BGS 10 copy of this card has sold on eBay for more than $4,500. I'll take mine all day long -- and getting a nine here is tough as it is.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

FEELING SUPER
The Card: Nick Swisher 2015 Bowman Chrome Superfractor #129 (1/1)
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up off of a collector friend who grabbed it for me, making this just my second Superfractor for my retired favorite player and my third Super overall (I once pulled one from a Heritage blaster) in years of collecting. There's not a whole lot of grading drama to be had on either the grade or the pop report, but I figured I'd lead things off with the rarest card of the bunch for this edition.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This is the only one that exists and it had been on the market for literally years online -- I got it for about $3 more than an offer I made for it when it first arrived and was declined. I've never been all that enamored enough to chase any of them, but this one I'm comfortable with since it was not much more than a basic Bowman box typically goes for at suggested retail price even after landing a top grade.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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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. Drew Waters, OF, Braves — Double-A Mississippi Braves
Baseball America’s highlight line: “It’s not like Waters wasn’t having an excellent season when June began. But his .416/.566/.828 June has unquestionably pushed him to the point where he is the most productive hitter in the Southern League. Waters now leads the league in nine major offensive categories including batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.535), OPS (.916), extra-base hits (36) and total bases (147). ... There are 35 Triple-A hitters slugging .550 or better. There are only three Double-A hitters slugging above .550."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 300
First Chrome auto: 2017 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2016 Leaf Metal Perfect Game
Buzz’s card take: This isn't the first time you have seen him here and not much has changed for him on the cardboard front release-wise -- no new ink this year. As said last time, about a third of his autos can be found in the 2016 Leaf release, while his 2017 ink arrives in a number of prospect brands as a pro. He's a Top 100 prospect across the board but the Braves have plenty of talent on the roster -- so it's a good thing he's just 20.

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

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You should know all about him after his dominating 2017 arrival that ended with the National League Rookie of the Year award in his hands and a World Series run that came up one run short of a championship. Last year? Not quite as bold statistically but still strong with another World Series loss.

This year?

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger leads the NL with nine homers in his first 17 games -- that's 36 percent of his total all of last season, three more than the closest slugger in his own league and just one short of the only player in the game today tops him today (American League slugger Khris Davis). It's a hot start.

He appears on more than 3,200 different baseball cards but only 600 or so of those are certified autographs (Buzz is waiting on a redemption) and, while these numbers have all exploded since his arrival they're not that big in the big-picture as he's dominating once again.

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It might be easy to overlook the New York Yankees pitching staff with all those young sluggers and other big boppers in the Bronx, but there's one arm clearly establishing himself this summer as he's in the midst of a career year and should have dominating season totals by year's end.

It's Luis Severino.

The 24-year-old right-hander is 13-2 with a 1.98 ERA this season -- tops in the American League and nearly the best in MLB right now -- and he's got 138 strikeouts in 118 innings atop that. His next victory will tie his career-high set last season and he's by far the top arm on the team -- Masahiro Tanaka is second with just seven victories this year.

And all this success should bode well for his cardboard, which can still be found with relative ease.

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Are his cards good for bargain hunters? Maybe not now on some stuff ... but there's definitely new interest and some under-the-radar cards out there.

He's Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies and power-wise he's come out of nowhere to lead the majors with 13 home runs after his latest shot on Monday night -- he's one of five players with that many longballs so far this season and it's a surprise because he's not been known as a power guy. Albies had just six homers in 57 games last season and hit just 16 in 390 games before arriving in Atlanta.

This is a change that might spark added interest in his baseball cards.

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Colorado Rockies rookie pitcher Kyle Freeland ended the first half of the season with a no-hitter lost in the ninth inning -- but a one-hitter was good enough.

The lefty, who was the eighth-overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, racked up a career-high nine strikeouts in what was just his 18th big-league start. For the season, he sits at 9-7 with a 3.77 ERA after his gem at Coors Field.

The good news for collectors? Unlike those red-hot rookie sluggers, you can actually find Freeland's autographs somewhat easily and affordably -- perhaps because, you know, he pitches at Coors Field.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Name-dropping -- Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Zack Hample -- and big breaks today.

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One of the hottest rookies in baseball -- the King of the West Coast to counter Aaron Judge's Big Apple dominance -- wrote his way into the record books on Monday night.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger hit two more home runs -- that's 21 in just 51 career games -- and that's the fastest pace in MLB history to start a career and good enough for the National League lead, trailing only Judge for the overall mark.

What makes this feat extra-enticing for collectors? The fact that Bellinger has a relatively minuscule amount of cardboard overall and a small number of certified autographs -- and that means more competition for what he does have as the home runs go flying.

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Your next big-name New York Yankees rookie to arrive in The Big Apple will face big expectations -- but he doesn't have nearly as much cardboard as those who arrived before him.

Unlike the arrivals of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge -- guys who had plenty of baseball cards and plenty of certified autographs when they hit The Show -- shortstop Gleyber Torres doesn't.

And that could bode very well for collectors who own them.

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If you hadn't noticed this month, there have been a number of boxes with discounted prices now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com's Black November has been rocking the hobby.

Now, though, we're prepping for Black Friday with a preview wave of what's to come.

Many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five options that caught this collector’s eye. (Be sure to click this link to see how much these will be discounted.)

2015 Bowman Chrome baseball hobby box
The rookie auto crop isn't what a lot of Chrome buyers scout first but the list of names found in this one is impressive -- Byron Buxton, Carlos Rodon, Francisco Lindor, Joc Pederson, Kris Bryant and Noah Syndergaard. There are, of course, then the prospects and plenty of rainbow potential that the Chromies are known to collect in bulk. A lower price on these boxes should entice more than a few rippers -- and cards like this Bryant auto could be in there with two autographs in every box.

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He's already joined the Topps Authentics team as one of the top players on the radar of the company's memorabilia division, but a hot start this spring just might have him on the radar of more collectors soon.

He's Hector Olivera, and he's hit .438 (14-for-32) with just a single strikeout in 11 games this spring for the Atlanta Braves, where he's likely to be in left field on Opening Day.

"We've seen him juice some balls, but we don't know if this guy is going to be a nine-home-run guy or a 15-18 home run guy. We might not know that until later this year," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He doesn’t take things for granted. There’s nobody that works harder than him. He’s here early, he works, and as coaches, that’s what you want to see and what he gives us."

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One Blowout member did something unconventional by most collectors' standards and has sparked an interesting debate about collecting over on the forum.

He got his 2015 Bowman Chrome Mini Superfractor of Steven Matz autographed in-person. It's since been JSA certified, yet he asks the question "Did I ruin this card?"

In a poll on the site, 55 percent of those who answered said it looks awesome but he killed the value of the card. Just 30 percent said it was a good idea and the rest say he ruined it.

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Were you shut out on 2015 Bowman Chrome during the downtime on BlowoutCards.com today? Keep reading ...

Thanks for hanging in there with us.

We understand many of you got shut out on the 2015 Bowman Chrome special and we are working on a remedy. We will be listing a generous quantity sometime this evening with a limit of one box per household at the Doorbuster price of $29.95.

We do upgrade of servers every year for this event, and, honestly, we are overwhelmed by your support this year. We continue to restock many items well above what we had allocated for this event.

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The BlowoutCards.com Black Friday sale stalled just a bit Friday morning as demand for 2015 Bowman Chrome hobby boxes at just $29.95 apiece crashed the website.

It's just temporary, though, as the crew at Blowout is working on things right now.

Demand for Chrome is king -- here's the direct link for when it's back online.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.