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. Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros — Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies
Season so far: Hitting .314 with 23 doubles, 10 homers, 57 RBI and 13 SBs in 69 games
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Tucker, the Astros’ No. 1 overall prospect, absolutely destroyed the Pacific Coast League this week and has done so all June long. In the season’s third month, Tucker, still just 21 years old, holds a .415 average and a 1.085 OPS. More than that, he’s also a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 650
First Chrome auto: 2015 Bowman Chrome Draft 
One auto to consider: 2012 Elite Extra Edition (USA Baseball)
Buzz’s card take: He's got a ton of cards but he hit 25 homers last season and he's in the World Series champions organization, so there are a few reasons to chase and watch. If you can't land the Chrome, that really early USA option should have some decent appeal with a number of collectors. He's a Top 15 prospect per Baseball America and a Top 20 guy to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus -- so you should know his name already if you dabble in prospects.

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

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What: 2018 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Baseball: Houston Championship Edition
Arrives: June 27
Box basics: One autographed baseball per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's autographed baseball chase brand focuses on its hometown heroes, the Houston Astros, and their World Series championship squad from last season as well as some stars from the past and other local heroes.

Keep reading for more and a gallery of what's in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Topps Opening Day baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

Packs per box: 11
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 77
Base set completion: 
64 of 200 (32 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Ian Happ, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Gary Sanchez, Ichiro Suzuki, Nolan Arenado, Josh Donaldson, Carlos Correa, Bryce Harper, David Price, Kris Bryant, Trea Turner

Rookie Cards (7) – Rhys Hoskins, Parker Bridwell, J.P. Crawford, Harrison Bader, Ryan McMahon, Francisco Mejia, Walker Buehler

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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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TRISTAR has a new ace.

The Houston-based autograph and memorabilia company revealed its newest exclusive player on Monday night and it's Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander. 

He's not been a big signer for companies -- or for certified autograph cards -- in some time. The last time he had any substantial volume of signed cards was in 2012 and those cards were mostly still low-volume. You have to go back to 2007 when roughly a third of his certified autograph cards were made to find a decent amount of cardboard.

All that, combined with a dominating run to a World Series, drew him to TRISTAR's stable to help satisfy the growing demand for his ink.

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It's been more than a month since the Houston Astros won the World Series but the action is still relatively intense over on MLB Auctions.

Or at least some of the bidding and instant-purchase prices look that way.

Dugout lineup cards for Games 5-7 are up for auction at the moment via the site and end in three days. Game 7 leads the way at $911 after 18 bids, while Game 5 is $810 after 14 bids and Game 6 sits at $520 after just two.

Those have nothing on some of the other game-used items, though.

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What: 2018 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures autographed baseballs
Arrives: Jan. 3
Box basics: One autographed baseball per box (12 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's autographed baseball chase brand is back in January with nods to its hometown World Series champion Houston Astros as well as Diamond Tickets good for one of the biggest possible autographs in MLB history.

Keep reading for details on that one and a gallery of what's possible in this one.

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Not long after the final out of Game 7 of the World Series last night, Topps showed its hand for the commemorative cardboard.

The Houston Astros already have three World Series champions options available via the company's website.

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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: The Astros win it all and collectors win with all their big pulls.

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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: The World Series ends tonight, Five Star arrives, big questions, big pulls & big steals.

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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: World Series chatter, huge pulls, Giannis discussions and an altered high-dollar Aaron Rodgers Rookie Card.

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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: Avoiding ugly autographs, World Series chatter and big pulls in this Sunday edition ... check 'em out.

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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: World Series chatter, repeated card photos and big pulls.

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We got a preview of the possibilities of the postseason last week when Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder/utility player Enrique Hernandez smacked three home runs in Game 5 of the NLCS.

His few baseball cards suddenly had a lot more interest and that's something that David Freese, Andruw Jones, David Eckstein and many others can relate to. The postseason and the World Series is where new stars are born, especially on cardboard.

Hernandez played his first MLB game in 2014 -- and was drafted five years before that, ironically by the Houston Astros, who he'll face in the World Series beginning tonight -- and through all that time he'd barely appeared on 100 different baseball cards, got just one Rookie Card and one certified autograph before a rainbow of Topps Now cards arrived last Friday.

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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 waits, big pulls, Valyrian Steel and the starting point for World Series chatter on the boards.

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We're inching closer to the final teams taking the field this year in MLB and, at this point, we have just a single question for collectors after a crazy year of rookie home runs and plenty of other drama.

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[polldaddy poll=9848724]

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

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

Jose Altuve was the Houston Astros player who stole the spotlight on Thursday night with three home runs in Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series.

The number was just one short of his Rookie Card total from 2011 -- and the three-time batting champ doesn't have much cardboard before that, either, just an appearance in 2010 Bowman Chrome.

And that fact has me pondering a simple question for all of you ...

[polldaddy poll=9846384]

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

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

A moment of silence between the Houston Astros' game on Tuesday was captured on cardboard and will help raise money for the American Red Cross and Hurricane Harvey relief beginning today.

The card is the latest from Topps' real-time card program, Topps Now, and will only be available for 24 hours initially via Topps.com.

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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 3.

The pack: 1970 Fleer MLB Iron-ons
The cost now: $4
The cost then: 5 cents

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

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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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A new year of Topps #TBT is here and it's bringing to us the newest Hall of Fame class and a few other stars of yesteryear all on a design from the past.

Tim Raines, Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell are paired with one other Hall of Famer from their primary franchise's past to round out the first pack in a weekly series.

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One of baseball's top prospects is getting the call on Monday.

The Houston Astros will call up former LSU star Alex Bregman after a solid second season in the minor leagues where he's hit .306 with 20 homers and 61 RBI in 80 games between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno.

"We feel like this is a good time to add him to a good team," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told the Houston Chronicle. "We're rolling along pretty well. He doesn't have to come up here and be anything but himself and contribute at a couple different positions."

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Topps' new program creating real baseball cards in real time documenting the highlights of the here and now have caught on with some collectors as this season has begun with some historic starts and impressive debuts for MLB rookies.

It's 2016 Topps Now and the cards are only available for a 24-hour window. After that, the population reports are released and the next day's cards are unveiled -- all in made-to-order, real-time fashion.

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The reigning American League Rookie of the Year wants to help some future stars sleep well and a new charity program will them help do that via a limited edition baseball card and other possibilities that could get the attention of collectors.

Carlos Correa and Topps have joined forces to create a card for the Restless for the Cause initiative through Houston Children's Charity. The program will provide beds, blankets and pillows to kids who don't have them in the Houston area.

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Countless collectors call themselves prospectors, and that particular focus is one that can lead to a lot of pack-ripping or a lot of secondary market purchases with future flips in mind.

One brand that's got many of those coveted newcomer names year after year is Elite Extra Edition, which is Panini America's foilboard-focused prospecting brand that typically packs one of the deepest checklists and, with Hot Boxes, some of the highest autograph totals in the hobby.

While the dust isn't yet settling on the recently released newest edition of the brand, Buzz decided to take a look back at nine names who you should know from the previous two editions (2013 and 2014) and see how they did last season. Why? There are inevitably some bargains to be had if you consider this brand and these guys (along with countless other players that may not yet be on the radars of too many prospectors) given box prices these days. After all, old wax can still be good wax if the price is right.

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