Panini 3, Leaf 1, Topps 0
Full list of 2014 Mets draft picks
With the 2014 product year now behind us, we can tally up the score for getting the year’s draft picks to sign autographs. Panini came out on top with Milton Ramos, Eudor Garcia, and Josh Prevost (the team’s round 3-5 picks) live in Elite Extra Edition and Michael Conforto only available as a redemption (or live on dual player autograph cards). Topps completely whiffed with no Mets autographs in 2014 Bowman Draft and a Michael Conforto redemption (supposedly signed as of 30 January 2015) in Bowman Sterling as their only 2014 autograph from a 2014 Mets pick. Leaf beat out Topps for the number 2 spot with the only live 2014 autographs from Michael Conforto in 2014 Leaf Metal Draft, 2014 Leaf Valiant, and 2014 Leaf Trinity. That makes a total of 0 MLB-licensed autograph cards from 2014 Mets picks issued live in all 2014 products. The dark days of Mets prospect autographs are once more upon us.
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Six out of eleven ain’t bad
After drafting just five players with any baseball cards in 2013, the Mets came up big in 2014 with 11 of 39 picks having certified autograph cards. Most of these were from 2013 Leaf Perfect Game, which has asserted itself as the premier pre-pro product and should merit a look when it returns later this year. While the Mets did sign all of their picks in the first 20 rounds, most late-round high school picks declined to sign, taking away five players with 2013 Leaf Perfect Game autographs: Luke Bonfield, Tommy Pincin, Keaton McKinney, Jordan Hand, and Jonathan Teaney. McKinney and Hand also have various memorabilia cards, leaving top pick Michael Conforto as the only signed Mets pick from 2014 with memorabilia. The loss of nearly half of the potential autographs in this draft class is unfortunate, but the remainder still rates as the best-ever draft day autograph crop.
2013 Mets Draft Class Autographs
2012 Mets Draft Class Autographs
2011 Mets Draft Class Autographs
I’m never really sure what to make of the minor league edition of Topps Heritage. I love seeing the variety of team names that can be found in the minors and there are always a few interesting oddities that show up, but the nostalgia factor doesn’t quite work as well as it does for the big league product. It’s not like the Binghamton Rumble Ponies had any vintage 1968 cards (or even 2016 cards). Retro style cards of players with little or no major league experience seems a tad bit presumptuous, especially considering how many of them will go on to careers in the big leagues of scouting, coaching, car sales, or plumbing rather than baseball. Minor league baseball toys with your expectations to the point of cruelty sometimes, as does this incarnation of Heritage. Every once in a while though, things pan out.
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