Blaster Break: 2024 Topps Update (the Hunt for Topa)

Picked up a Blaster of 2024 Topps Update Last Week. I have dubbed this the "Hunt for Justin Topa" because: 

1) The Twins Reliever is a baseball collector who is active and fun follow on social media 

2) This is the first set that contains a Justin Topa card - since Topps had dawdled at getting Topa a card, the -net made a bid deal out of him being on the Mariners celebration card in series one 

3) He is connected to the Philadelphia area. 

Eighty-Four cards 12x7, In addition to Topa, we will be looking for Phillies and the sets prominent rookies like Paul Skenes and Jackson Holliday. Lets look at what we found: 

It's been a while since I did a Break Post - I start out with the Base Card Highlights by Position and move on to the inserts (and possible hits)

Today we are going to look at Base Cards and the continuity insert.

The Battery:

2024 Topps s3 clockwise: Skenes/Grandal, Trevor Williams, Alex Wood, Ben Brown

I won't keep you in suspense - no Justin Topa. But I did get a Paul Skenes, just not The Paul Skenese RC. Ben Brown is also a prospect. Posted the Alex Wood to honor the A's final season in Oakland. 

Infield

2024 Topps s3: Luis Vazquez, Tony Kemp, Austin Shenton, Colt Keith

Yeah my IF were pretty thin. The only one I know anything bout is Keith because I saw him in a couple of playoff games and thought of him as the guy with the backwards name - bonus points for the batting helmet flying off. 

Outfield

2024 Topps s3: Jackson Chourio, Austin Martin, Victor Scott II, Jordan Beck

Little bit stronger set of prospects here, The Rookie Debut cards of Austin Martin and Victor Scott II standout from all the overdose of action shots in the newer topps set. You don't see much of it but the Rockies City Connect on Jordan Beck is one of the stronger ones. 

Parallels

Emmanuel Rivera Halloween Insert & Base, Garrett Crochet, Joey Gallo

The orange and black down arrow cards are the Halloween Parallels which are pure dreck. I added Garrett Crochet here just to confirm that the 121 loss White Sox did get an All-Star - that is like saying you have the fastest pinto on the street.

Parallels #2: 

Alec Burleson (Jack-O-Lantern), Dylan Lee Purple, Martin Perez Gold, Matt Carpenter Foil

In this second quad of parallels we have the Jack-O-Lantern set which is NOT the more common Halloween parallel. The Jack-O-Lanterns are 1 in 22 packs. The Purple parallels are 1 in 42 packs but still numbered to /800.

Inserts

The Stars of MLB continuity insert, which you all likely remember from s1 and s2. These are blah to me - Wyatt Langford is a prospect, his name makes me think of the Ozark character. 

We have covered the commons and their related parallels here as well as the continuity insert. Later this week we will take a look at some of the less common inserts that were produced by the break.

Sources and Links

SI/Collectibles/Suzy Lulgluraj

Topps