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. Luis Urias, 2B, Padres — Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas
Season so far: Hitting .290 with 28 doubles, 8 homers, 44 RBI and 2 SBs in 114 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Urias reeled off five consecutive multi-hit games, including four three-hit games, and raised his season batting average from .270 to .290 in a span of six games. He finished the week off in grand style, belting the game-tying RBI triple in the ninth and then scoring the winning run on Sunday."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 200
First Chrome auto: Still to come
One auto to consider: 2016 Elite Extra Edition
Buzz’s card take: He's barely cracked 20 certified autos so there's just two places to find him right now -- 2016 Elite Extra Edition and 2018 Onyx Platinum Elite where his easiest auto is limited to only 200 copies. After his un-numbered Elite auto, none of the parallels there is more than 100 copies. All of this should help values right now.

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

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In the hours before the official show opening, there had been a green tarp covering that section of the booth, but at the opening bell Blowout owner Thomas Fish personally greeted each and every buyer of the Blowout MegaMix to help them make their choice of one of 600 serial-numbered packages, see what was inside and help them collect their findings.

The scene you see above? That's The Boss in action with the collector to the left getting either a box lot of the pictured item or a sealed case. Other surprises in these $100 boxes -- besides the Blowout shirt, a VIP party drawing entry certificate (drawing is Saturday) and even a little sugary Megamix extra -- can include autographed jerseys from Hall of Famers, a guy you might know named Shohei Ohtani and even autographed baseballs from a few Atlanta Braves rookies. (That's all they would tell me in advance -- it's that top secret and the fun is in the mystery.)

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The first details on a top-secret project at BlowoutCards.com dropped on Monday with nothing but pre-ordering and waiting coming between all of us and a 2018 Blowout Cards Mega Mix box. 

The waiting part is for the start of this year's National Sports Collectors Convention set for Aug. 1-5 in Cleveland, which is where this one will launch and be available -- but only for the first 600 buyers.

What does it include?

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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, Tampa Bay Rays — Rookie-level Princeton Rays
Season so far: Hitting .339 with 1 double, 2 homers, 11 RBI and 3 SBs in 14 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: “When we ranked Franco as the No. 1 international prospect last year, we knew he was a talented hitter whose offensive ability was well beyond his years. Since then, he’s only gotten better. ... He has a chance to develop into an impact hitter, the type who could race through the minors and get to the big leagues by the time he’s 20."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): None
First Chrome auto: Not yet
One auto to consider: No autos yet
Buzz’s card take: His first MiLB team-issue cards should be of interest when they arrive -- it sounds like Baseball America is sold -- but watch out for other Wander Franco cards out there. They're relatives who are or have been in the minors, too. This Wander Franco doesn't even have his mugshot on MiLB.com. (Spoiler: That's why you see the No. 2 player on the list above.)

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

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The annual photography showcase that is Stadium Club arrived from Topps this week with a new crop of highlight-reel cards among a meaty set that are gems simply because of the image that appears on them.

It's not about the design, it's not about the player, it's not about the team -- it's about the photography in 2018 Topps Stadium Club.

The Dansby Swanson gem you see above? It was captured by photographer Patrick Duffy for Getty Images on June 9 last season when Swanson scored the winning run against the Mets. He scored off a single by Rio Ruiz and the Braves won 3-2 in the ninth -- and now that moment has a run on cardboard. (Ironically, that was the game where The Freeze dominated this guy and introduced us all to his antics.)

It's not alone when it comes to gems in the 300-card set that includes even more high-quality non-traditional images among some short-prints.

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A called shot leads to a baseball card.

That's exactly what has happened -- in the same day -- in the case of Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies after his walk-off home run in the 11th inning of yesterday's game at SunTrust Park -- a longball that actually ended the game early this morning.

"It's time to go long now," he said to a teammate before he did just that.

Earlier today, Topps revealed the Topps Now card to document it all, complete with autographs to come for those who take the plunge with the celebration-focused card that has photos on the front and back and will only be available for 24 hours.

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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: NSCC chatter, big pulls from a few past and present boxes and showing off some Braves cards.

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This year's National Sports Collectors Convention is set for Aug. 1-5 in Cleveland with a meaty roster of autograph guests signing for those who opt to get a ticket and get in line for an "inkredible" moment.

Some of those signers are actually free if you're at the VIP reception on Wednesday or buy a VIP ticket package -- a bonus for taking the time to hit the entire show or buy the full package for all of the other bonuses -- but other signers will take some planning to land the ones you want.

It's tough to see everything at the show -- it's that big -- and the time it takes to work through autograph lines is valuable in that it impedes your shot at seeing it all. With that said, here are my picks -- one per day -- to grab off the autograph list. (Keep reading for the full signers list in a gallery at the end.)

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Pulling a 1/1 card isn't as hard as it used to be these days, but finding a cool trivial piece that is a 1/1 -- but isn't -- isn't all that easy.

(Wait, what?)

Well, it isn't that easy on the cheap, but this collector managed to pull it off thanks to the Topps wall art line and the fact that these are a little more overlooked vs. the standard cardboard despite being a much bigger deal.

My recent addition? An Ozzie Albies 2018 Topps Heritage Rookie Card -- just jumbo-style.

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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: Inside a huge Chicago Bears collection, busting 2018 Bowman Mega Boxes, other big pulls and NSCC chatter.

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On the outside, the MLB game-used baseball you see here looks much like any other ball -- whether it was a home run, a pitch in the dirt or a foul ball.

What makes this ball unique and any other like it? That little hologram and its code, which unlocks its uniqueness. If you're a veteran collector, this is nothing new -- the MLB Authentication program has been around since 2001 helping get collectors as close to game as possible with items pulled straight from the field of play (or the players' backs) to be stickered and authenticated forever.

But one recent development of the last season or two is some added information about baseballs in particular -- specific play sequences including players involved, pitch speeds, pitch types and anything else of note -- and that makes even these somewhat-typical-looking baseballs a little more interesting.

This ball? I got it from a grab bag of sorts ... keep reading for the details.

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Have you seen the latest crazy items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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THE ROYAL WEDDING'S BIGGEST CARD
The Item: 2012 Cryptozoic Fringe Seasons 1-2 Autographs Meghan Markle
The Price: $999 (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Beginning tomorrow, this American actress will potentially be known as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex as she's marrying into England's Royal Family. This is one of just a handful of trading card appearances for her in this Fringe set and this once was a relatively inexpensive signature. Now? It's pricey and a number of people will undoubtedly be interested in these cards as the international spotlight will be all over the story of how she's ended up the bride and everything that entails tomorrow. Members of the Royal Family are not permitted to sign autographs, so there won't be more to come on that front.
Similar Pieces: Other copies of this card on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for non-sports cards

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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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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We're about a month into the MLB season and all you have to do to find the surprises for this year is look at the home run leaders list.

Through last night's action, three players have hit 10 home runs and four more are right behind them at nine. One name among those top seven sluggers is a given -- Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout -- but some of the other names might surprise. The leaders? New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorious, Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger and Trout. Just after them? Atlanta Braves shortstop Ozzie Albies, Chicago White Sox DH Matt Davidson and a pair of past All-Stars, Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado.

Let's take a look at a few of these lesser-known players' cards.

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Baseball's newest rookie made his debut on Wednesday, hit his first home run today and has a Topps Now card -- with autograph -- to help feed the big demand.

He's Atlanta Braves left fielder Ronald Acuña and he's also the reigning Baseball America Minor League Baseball Player of the year -- a guy who has plenty of hot cardboard already.

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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: Ozzie Albies arrives, Shohei Ohtani's key Rookie Cards, pondering "high-end" and big pulls to start the week.

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The reigning Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year and future Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña gets the nod as the first of an occasional series of graphic looks at players in the game today here on The Buzz.

Check it out ... and chase his autographs here.

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

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

Sure, Shohei Ohtani has a Rookie card in packs of 2018 Topps Opening Day baseball, but there may not be one that sells faster than one of the cards in the Team Traditions and Celebrations insert set.

It's the Rookie Card for The Freeze. 

Forget the sausage races and the presidential mascot races -- those are so retro. This card for the Atlanta Braves phenom will leave them all in the dust along with a few other cards in the set arriving next Wednesday.

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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: Big pulls, collector discussions and more Buzzing as we start a new week.

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On this day in 1934 in Mobile, Ala., Henry Louis Aaron was born -- and 20 years later he made his big-league debut for the Milwaukee Braves.

Twenty-two years after that? Hammerin' Hank's career ended -- in the uniform of the Milwaukee Brewers -- with him atop the all-time home run list. All of this is a simple but impressive stat-sheet reality that you can revisit here but should know.

What some younger collectors may not realize, though, is that one of his baseball cards arrived noting his new record before it actually happened and before it was on the back of his card, instead of the year after as it really should have been. (It's actually among my favorite Aaron cards, too, making the birthday the reason you're reading this.)

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 6.

The box: 2016 Fanatics Authentic Under Wraps Series 1 autographed baseballs
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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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: Meeting Chipper Jones, big pulls, Byron Buxton RCs, the rise and fall of Mastro Auctions & more as we start a new week.

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It's been more than 16 years since the baseball world lost "Pops," aka Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, at age 61.

During a lengthy big-league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was a World Series champ, a National League MVP and even Sports Illustrated's Man of the Year -- and all those awards and more are up for grabs via SCP Auctions right now.

And there are even some impressive yet unusual items that some baseball fans might not even know about also available in the sale.

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A new baseball season is nearly here with the first spring training games set to air later this month and that's when we'll see the newest players on their new teams.

And many of them will be wearing new uniforms -- well, at least new caps.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Two massive pulls from Topps Tribute, Chicago Cubs show-offs, an NBA debate and ... how long until Dak Prescott cards become overpriced?

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