2023 Wild Card Auto Mania: Rookie and Prospect Edition
From March 15-17, 2024 Box Score Collectibles was at the Arizona State Card Show at the Phoenix Convention Center. While we were there, I was looking at some of the various tables and I came across a product I had not seen before: 2023 Wild Card Auto Mania Baseball: Rookie and Prospect Edition.
I have seen the Wild Card name many times in the past for football products. This was the first baseball product I had seen. I am a huge Minor League Baseball Fan and I do like to collect rookie and prospect autos. However, I am also a collector that is not always able to afford low-numbered autos. I decided to give this product a try.
2023 Wild Card Auto Mania: Rookie and Prospect Edition has a checklist of 75 players including some of the hottest prospects and rookies. The checklist ranges from rookies like Anthony Volpe to top prospects like Dylan Crews and Jackson Holliday. Each box contains eight autographs serial numbered to 50 or less.
All cards in the box are well protected. Each card comes in its own case. One auto is sealed in a magnetic case and numbered to five or less and all of the other cards are in snap cases. One of the things I liked about opening the box is that each card is wrapped in its own pack. There are eight autos, so eight packs to open. Similar products will usually have all cards stacked together unwrapped, but in a well-protected box. Having each card in its own pack added to the enjoyment.
Packs 1-4
In the first four packs I was able to pull three players with Major League service time and a Top 10 Prospect for their team. The first auto I pulled was a Gabriel Arias (Cleveland Guardians) Green Diamond numbered 9/15. The next was a Purple Diamond Triston Casas (Boston Red Sox) serial numbered 8/25. The third MLB player was Ryan Kreidler (Detroit Tigers) Orange Triangle numbered 43/50. The final auto of this group was a Denzer Guzman Green Kaleidoscope Square numbered 3/7. Guzman is the Number 7 Prospect for the Los Angeles Angels.
Packs 5-8
The second half of the box yielded some great results. This started off with a Purple Kaleidoscope Diamond of Moises Ballesteros (Chicago Cubs) numbered 1/8. Ballesteros is the Number 8 Prospect for the Cubs. Autograph number six was catcher Gabriel Moreno (Arizona Diamondbacks) Blue Kaleidoscope Square numbered 1/5. The seventh auto brought out a Green Kaleidoscope Square numbered 2/7 of Dylan Crews. Crews was the Number 2 overall draft pick in the 2023 for the Washington Nationals.
The last pack I opened was the one guaranteed to be numbered to five or less. To this point I had already pulled a card numbered to five, the Gabriel Moreno. I was hoping for a card with a lower number and this pack did not disappoint. From this pack I pulled an Oswald Peraza (New York Yankees) Platinum Lazers numbered 1/3.
Overall, this was a fun product to open. It is great to find an affordable product where you can get low-numbered rookie and prospect autos. I enjoyed that each of the cards were individually encased and wrapped. To me this adds to the value of the product. You have the security of knowing the cards are safely packaged and you get the fun of opening eight packs in the box. If I were to come across more of these boxes, I would likely pick up another.
