2017 PENNANT BOX BREAK - PACK 7

201. Chris Sale 

285. Jake Lamb 

130. Keon Broxton 

199. Kole Calhoun 

217. Edwin Diaz

213. Aledmys Diaz 

129. Jayson Werth 

194. Byron Buxton

300. Domingo Santana 

FF2. Aaron Judge - Future Favorites

And here’s our first Aaron Judge card. You may have noticed the absence of the RC logon on the Judge card. Unlike Topps, I decided that Spirit cards should only sport the RC logo on base cards included in the main set. That means no inserts. We don’t do a lot of parallels in Spirit products but for ones that are parallels of the base card, RC logos will appear where applicable. I figure it would help to not dilute the entire point of the RC designation if they weren’t plastered over every card this year. Novel concept, huh?

2017 SPIRIT BOX BREAK - PACK 20

87. Mike Leake

156. Lance McCullers

85. Yasmani Grandal

163. Anthony DeSclafani

61. Aledmys Diaz

284. Kyle Hendricks

290. Matt Adams

24. Gerardo Parra

39. Ryon Healy (RC)

G198. Byron Buxton

OTR5. Danny Duffy - On the Rise (AUTO)

The final hit of the box is another On the Rise autograph, this time of Danny Duffy. So along with the Matt Carpenter Team MVP relic, this box is probably destined for a Walmart somewhere in Missouri. Hell, this pack alone has three Cardinals. Enjoy, Show Me State.

2016 Spirit Rookie Round-Up

The 2016 rookie class has been pretty solid this season, from prospects with high expectations like Corey Seager to guys that seemingly came out of nowhere, like Aledmys Diaz. While it may not be as stacked as the 2015 class, it's definitely not full of slouches. Regardless, I thought this was a good time to reintroduce the Rookie Round-Up insert from 2013.

The 'grunginess' from last time is turned down a bit, with the design elements being mostly clean with a bit of grain to keep things from being too sterile. The high-contrast, black & white cutouts look like something you'd see on a DIY gig flyer, fitting with the "youthful" concept of the set. The rest of the elements are colorful to represent the team, with a lighter picture of the player's home stadium in the background.

The back side is brighter and cleaner, with a full-color photo and the grain from the front removed. There's a brief write-up about the player's brief MLB career, highlighting the half-seasons that have led to their inclusion in the rookie round-up here.

I kept the checklist at 20 players like in 2013, and had to enforce a cut-off since the idea would be for these to be released in a series 2-like set. So that means guys like Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez didn't make the cut. I'm sure they'll be represented in some rookie review insert for 2017 Spirit.