Minor League May continues with 2001 SP Top Prospects Baseball! This release features a base checklist with 90 cards. Three players (Corey Patterson, Josh Hamilton and Sean Burroughs) appear a second time on checklist cards.

The base cards feature a shiny foil finish. The cards also, of course, feature players in their minor league uniforms, which can always be a fun change of pace!

In addition to the base cards, there are three fairly common inserts to pull, all with themes about the future. There are also bat relic cards and autographs! Both of these should be found in each box. As far as the autograph checklist, there are some notable players to chase down, which is not always the case in minor league products. Featured in the Chirography checklist are Adrian Gonzalez, Ben Sheets, C.C. Sabathia, Josh Beckett, and Josh Hamilton.

2001 SP Top Prospects Baseball Box Break

Cards per pack: 5
Packs per box: 24
Price paid: $59

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Pack 1 highlights:

Michael Cuddyer Big Town Dreams (1:12 packs) and Jason Romano Game Used Bat Relic (1:23 packs)

Pulling a box hit in the first pack always kills the hype a little bit, unless of course it is a monster hit! Unfortunately, this was not.

Pack 2:

Jimmy Rollins and Adrian Gonzalez

Pack 3:

Joe Crede

Pack 4:

Corey Patterson

Patterson was ranked the No. 2 prospect in baseball prior to the 2001 season.

Pack 5:

Corey Patterson, Alex Escobar Great Futures (1:12 packs) and Ben Christensen Chirography Autograph (1:11 packs)

Pack 6:

Francisco Rodriguez and Ruben Salazar

I couldn’t not share this Salazar card with the disposable camera!

Pack 7:

Marcus Giles and Sean Burroughs

Pack 8:

Jack Cust and Jayson Werth

In 1999, Jack Cust hit 42 home runs for the High Desert Mavericks, the High-A club of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pack 9:

Adam Dunn and Josh Hamilton Big Town Dreams (1:12 packs)

Pack 10:

Brandon Inge, Cesar Izturis, C.C. Sabathia Great Futures (1:12 packs) and Kurt Ainsworth Chirography Autograph (1:11 packs)

Pack 11:

C.C. Sabathia

Sabathia pitched in 54 minor league games during his baseball career. He posted a 3.50 minor league ERA, not far from his 3.74 career major league ERA.

Pack 12:

Vernon Wells

Pack 13:

Felipe Lopez, Josh Beckett and Wily Mo Pena

Pack 14:

Josh Hamilton and Brad Wilkerson

Pack 15:

Tough pack here, though Toby Hall did spend some years in the majors.

Pack 16:

Hong-Chih Kuo

Kuo pitched five seasons in the minors before making his major league debut in 2005.

Pack 17:

Vernon Wells and Josh Beckett

Pack 18:

Wily Mo Pena and Choo Freeman Big Town Dreams (1:12 packs)

Pack 19:

Aaron Rowand

Pack 20:

C.C. Sabathia and Joe Crede Game Used Bat Relic (1:23 packs)

Pack 21:

Michael Cuddyer

Cuddyer twice hit over .330 in a season near the tail end of his career, in 2013 and 2014. He led the NL in 2013 with a .331 average.

Pack 22:

Josh Hamilton and Ben Sheets

Pack 23:

C.C. Sabathia Destination: The Show (1:18 packs)

Pack 24:

Carlos Pena

Lastly, the Pena card back. I do appreciate showing all of a team’s minor league affiliates on the back. Those can be confusing to keep track of!

Unfortunately, there were no big time hits in this one, even though the potential was there for some notable players.  Sabathia’s Chirography Autograph card sells for $30-40 or so, but it was fun to pull a few different cards of a Hall of Famer anyway. I will absolutely enjoy pulling minor league cards of any player inducted in Cooperstown!

Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.

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