Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... sometimes stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new fun cards and oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

IT'S NOT A '52, BUT ...
The Item: Ryan Mantle 2008 Grandstand Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Update
The Buzz On This: The last line of this card's "Ballpark Banter" gives away the show here -- he's the third cousin of Mickey Mantle -- and there have been a few Mantles to appear on cards beyond The Mick over the years. This one played two seasons of minor-league ball for three teams in that stretch and then 10 final games during his third season -- that one in the Frontier League. The final MiLB stats? Three homers and 38 RBI in 81 games while batting .269. Per Baseball Reference, he's among six relatives of the Hall of Famer to play pro baseball.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

BO KNOWS MiLB
The Card: Bo Bichette 2018 Topps Heritage Minor League (image variation)
The Buzz On This: My most-collected active player bats lead-off this time as I just wanted some MLB star power here -- he has that despite a down year in 2024 -- and this one also is a reminder. Of what? That, while the MiLB options in packs are not what they used to be right now, you can find a lot of today's younger stars on Heritage MiLB cards that ran from 1962 to 1973 on cardboard -- that's 2011 to 2022 in reality -- before the line was shelved last year. This was a slightly pricier pick-up vs. my typical stuff dropped here (oddball finds from team sets) as this is a photo variation SP ... a little tougher find but not an impossible one. What might be impossible finds at some point soon or the next few years? Unopened Heritage MiLB boxes and perhaps even some earlier editions of Pro Debut ... they have to have the smallest print runs of anything from Topps in recent years. No new stuff to open in box form has had me looking at singles more and more, despite many older MiLB boxes having affordable prices ... I may dabble with both more next year.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

ALIEN PUP MEETS PUP?
The Card: Orbit 2019 Choice Albuquerque Isotopes
The Buzz On This: "Never work with children or animals" might be a Hollywood saying, but in the case of this mascot's cardboard the pup might be stealing the show. This team's sets have included cameos from shelter pups at least a couple years in the past so this actually isn't that unusual, but this one jumped out at me since it's the alien (who looks like a dog to me) mascot. What must that dog be thinking? That's what I'd really want to know ...

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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Minor league team sets are a fun anomaly in the cardboard world with some of the weirder cards ever made to be found there -- most without a single autograph or piece of memorabilia to be found. Many of those cards not even all that well known, either, but unique cards can capture attention and tell stories.

Don't believe that? Just ask Keith Comstock. 

Many times, team sets can be made in super-rare quantities -- sometimes just a few hundred sets to be sold at team gift shops or even given away at games. You won't find their key cards slabbed by the thousands and you won't find people sprinting to the card aisle to grab and flip 'em on release day, either. But you might find them to be a fun alternative to collect until those days of hunting for packs and actually finding them are a little more routine. They aren't all easy finds, those MiLB sets, but they might not break the bank to find.

Now, with that said, check this one out ... our first MiLB Madness piece.

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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. Wander Franco, SS, Rays — Class A MiLB Charlotte Stone Crabs
Baseball America’s highlight line: “After scorching the Midwest League for half a season, the Rays promoted Franco to high Class A on June 25. In five games, he has walked as many times (four) as he’s swung and missed. He’s also scored as many times as he’s swung and missed. He’s got six more hits than he has swings and misses. He’s younger than every player on this year’s USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team, and he’s already in the Florida State League. If the start to his tenure with Charlotte is any indication, he’s going to have no trouble reaching Double-A just after turning 19 years old."

CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 360
First Chrome auto: 2019 Bowman 
One auto to consider: 2018 Elite Extra Edition
Buzz’s card take: Nearly half of his cards are autographs yet there's still plenty of demand -- and if you somehow don't know his name the ship has sailed on sleeper/bargain cards. He's easily among the top prospects in baseball and Baseball America had him fourth heading into this season. He's hitting .335 with 17 doubles, five triples, eight homers and 35 RBI in 67 games this season -- not quite as strong as last season in rookie ball at 17. The age is the thing here and if he improves quickly as he advances at a young age he's worth the big bucks being paid for his cards. The good news is that there's a lot to choose from if you're hunting them. I didn't find that highlight line to be all that overwhelming -- I get it, he doesn't swing and miss -- but his stats also weren't as crazy as I had expected when I checked them.

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

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