An 8 month Mets rookie/prospect extravaganza! Of mostly Jeurys Familia.
We’re coming up on the most hectic stretch of baseball card releases as numerous Topps delays have left late September and October with new releases every week. For the 2013 rookie class, it’s now or, well, next year. Once we get through the next six weeks, the focus will shift from current rookies to draft picks. For players like Zack Wheeler who were highly-touted and debuted in the middle of the season but have yet to have an official Rookie Card, they can be assured a spot in the upcoming wave of releases. Juan Lagares, still waiting after an April debut, should also be a safe bet. August debuts like Wilmer Flores, Travis d’Arnaud, and Matt den Dekker could have come too late for this year’s RC class. The big question though is what will happen with Scott Rice. 14 years in the minors and the Mets’ trademark overuse leading into injury should be enough to get some hobby recognition, but middle relievers are often overlooked, as Gonzalez Germen almost certainly will be.
But before we get to the Rookie Cards that people actually care about, let’s take a look back at the rookies, debuts, not-rookies, and prospect oddities from the first 8 months of the year. Because I’m not even sure how we got here or what this all means. Read on for an exhaustive run-down of 2013’s Mets prospects in cardboard.
14 January 2013 – MLBPA Identifies 53 2013 RC Candidates
Rookie cards used to be simple. When you have your first MLB card, that’s your rookie year and all base cards from that year are rookie cards. Except if your first card is issued in a limited set or other product not distributed in packs nationwide, then it’s an XRC and your rookie card is next year. It only got more bizarre and complicated from there. Luckily, the MLB Players Association stepped in to simplify everything again. Players were eligible to have MLBPA-authorized Rookie Cards when they became part of their team’s 25-man roster. Players who had not yet achieved RC status were ineligible to appear in base sets. That means no prospects, draft picks, September call-ups, Team USA, foreign league players, etc. Simple. Except insert sets were exempt from these rules, so base-like insert sets took over in prospect products while delayed prospect call-ups and production lead times kept actual rookies out of base sets until after the regular season. So yeah, same as it ever was, only with the MLBPA issuing “proper” rookies a shiny new RC logo. As in Rookie Card, not Royal Crown, though what’s the difference, really?
Coming into 2013, 53 players were eligible for RC-logo adornment. The list became public shortly before the first products of the year were released. From the Mets, Jeurys Familia and Collin McHugh made the cut. Apparently players like Zach Lutz and Rob Carson, who had been on the 25-man roster in 2012 without receiving a Rookie Card, were ineligible, probably because they were later dropped from the 25-man roster. Whatever the reasons, those were the two RC-eligible players the Mets had to work with.
23 January 2013 – Panini Elite Extra Edition (2012)
Technically a 2012 product because Panini is not subject to the normal flow of time, EEE is a draft pick product that has no need for licenses. With no MLB players in its checklist, there can be no Rookie Cards. What it does have though are the first professional cards of several players, including Branden Kaupe, Matt Koch, Logan Taylor, and maybe Matt Reynolds if that Bowman Black redemption card doesn’t count. Without licenses or logos, nobody is going to consider these rookie cards, but they are firsts. First whats I don’t know, but first something. Gavin Cecchini, Kevin Plawecki, and Logan Verrett round out the crop of Mets prospects with autographs here (though Plawecki’s are redemptions).
30 January 2013 – Topps Series 1
The first fully-licensed product of the year, Topps Series 1 was the first chance at some new official RCs. Jeurys Familia got the call in the base set and the Topps-trademark endless stream of parallels, all of which bore the RC logo. Wait, I though inserts weren’t supposed to be considered “rookie cards?” I guess an exception is made for parallels, because otherwise you would need a new printing plate for the parallels, which defeats the whole purpose. So parallels can be RCs, but not other inserts, right? That seemed to be the case when the hobby store redemption Spring Fever cards and autograph parallel did not carry the RC logo. Parallels yes, inserts no. Got it.
27 February 2013 – Panini National Treasures (2012)
Back to Panini, their first MLBPA-licensed product of the year was another time-shifted 2012 product. National Treasures was a big hit, in part due to the inclusion of autographs from Mets ace Matt Harvey, who hadn’t put ink to cardboard for Topps since 2010 (and wouldn’t again until the end of July). As a 2012 product, these cards are technically from Harvey’s (and Nieuwenhuis’s) rookie card year, but are they Rookie Cards? Instead of the RC logo, they have the Donruss Rated Rookie logo, so maybe? Without the MLB license though, will anyone consider them to be rookies of any kind? The world may never know.
6 March 2013 – Topps Heritage
Next up for Topps was Heritage, fresh off the redundant floating head nonsense from 2012. The floating heads are gone this time around and players are limited to only one Rookie Card. Actually, half a Rookie Card, as all RCs feature two players. With Familia in need of a dance partner, Collin McHugh made his RC debut as Familia’s bottom. As with Topps Series 1, the numerous parallels all feature the RC logo.
1 April 2013 – Scott Rice Debuts
Drafted in 1999, Scott Rice should have gotten his rookie card debut out of the way long before any of this became an issue. Unfortunately for him, he would spend 14 years between the minors and independent ball before getting a shot at the big time with the Mets. He stuck with the team all the way into September, when he hit the DL in need of Hernia surgery after leading the majors in appearances. If anyone deserves a Rookie Card this year, it’s Rice. His season is over, but the wait continues.
3 April 2013 – Topps Gypsy Queen
No RCs here, but Familia does have an autograph card. As an insert, it should be ineligible for the RC stamp, which it indeed lacks. So far so good.
17 April 2013 – Panini Prizm (2012)
Panini New Year falls somewhere in May or June, so the Panini Prizm released in April was the 2012 version. As such, it has cards from Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Matt Harvey emblazoned with a, but not the, RC logo. Are they true Rookie Cards? Seriously, I’m asking, are these Rookie Cards or not? I mean, they are licensed by the MLBPA, which is the group that set the new RC rules after all. Sure they have no team names or logos, but… Elsewhere in this product, Kevin Plawecki has an Elite Extra Edition insert card and Gavin Cecchini has a few more autographs. No license, no logos – not rookies. But they sure are shiny.
23 April 2013 – Juan Lagares Debuts
With the 20-game waiting period on new player call-ups finaly over, the floodgates have been opened! And we get Juan Lagares. Matt den Dekker would have been in this spot, but his spring training injury pushed his debut back until August. This was good news for Lagares, who would now have a chance to get some regular playing time in the majors. In a month or so. Even Terry Collins didn’t know why Lagares was on the team if he wasn’t going to be used, which really tells you all you need to know about how things work behind the scenes in the Mets organization. Lagares, once given the chance, would prove to be one of the best defensive outfielders in all of baseball. Surely, a Rookie Card can’t be far behind.
8 May 2013 – Bowman
Home of the Rookie Card! Is what Bowman used to be, before they moved up the release date to coincide with college finals. With the MLB season barely more than a month old, there’s just no way to get even Opening Day call-ups into the product, so only the 53 on the MLBPA’s original list are options here. That means more Jeurys Familia Rookie Cards! In base, hometown, gold, blue, orange, red, ice, red ice, purple ice, white ice, printing plates… And autographs! In chrome, refractor, blue refractor, gold refractor, orange refractor, red refractor, superfractor, printing plates… Wait, the autographs aren’t parallels, so why do they have the RC logo? Because they could be parallels of a Bowman Chrome RC if one is released later in the year? It seems like a stretch, but it means more Rookie Cards, so let’s just go with it. Good thing we’ve got Familia, it would be a shame if anything happened to him…
But there’s more to Bowman than the same old Rookies that we’ve already seen two or three times so far this year. Bowman always has a few fresh faces in its prospect sets that, while functionally identical to the base set, are technically inserts and are not subject to MLBPA rules. Man, you would think that the most powerful professional sports union could spring for some lawyers that wouldn’t leave a loophole the size of Bobby Bonilla’s retirement account in the rules… This year, four Mets made the cut to have some terribly Photoshopped not-rookie cards in Bowman: Cory Vaughn, Danny Muno, Rafael Montero, and Hansel Robles. Vaughn, Muno, and Montero have previously appeared in various releases of Topps Pro Debut and/or Topps Heritage Minor League Edition, but this is their first MLB appearance. For Hansel Robles, this is his first Topps card of any kind. Usually these things are denoted by a “First Bowman Card” logo, but not this year. Can’t have anything that might look like it’s claiming to be a Rookie Card, I guess.
Elsewhere in the inserts that actually resemble inserts, Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard have their first cards as Mets. Zack Wheeler, Wilmer Flores, and Michael Fulmer also have a few cards, but they’re old news. On the non-rookie/prospect front, Shaun Marcum has his first Mets card in the base set.
9 May 2013 – Jeurys Familia to the DL
Familia barely got an audition in the Mets’ bullpen before it all came crashing down. So much for the Mets’ default RC representative. At least we still have McHugh…
18 June 2013 – Zack Wheeler Debuts and Collin McHugh is Traded
Yeah, about Collin McHugh, um… A bullpen shakeup left McHugh with a DFA, which culminated in a trade for Eric Young Jr. Earlier that night, Zack Wheeler, now likely clear of dreaded Super 2 status, made his Mets debut. Wheeler was one of the most highly anticipated Mets prospects expected to debut in 2013, so clearly we can expect some Rookie Cards from him. In October. Unfortunately, he got in too late to appear in…
19 June 2013 – Topps Series 2
Collin McHugh had an eventful birthday this year. On the same day he began life in the Colorado Rockies system, Topps released his first solo Rookie Card, with all of the requisite parallels of course. I declared the day to be Collin McHugh Appreciation Day, but it didn’t really catch on. With that, the Mets had one Rookie on the 60-day DL and the other with the Rockies. Time for some more Rookie Cards. Please? Elsewhere in here are the first Mets cards of John Buck and Collin Cowgill in a pair of Photoshop abominations. There’s just no excuse for that sort of thing this late in the year, but maybe this means we’ll be getting some more cards of actual major league Mets players.
26 June 2013 – Topps Pro Debut
But first, some minor league cards. Pro Debut sends the base Topps card design down to the minors and gives us the first look at some of the game’s top prospects. Or the fourth look, there’s not a whole lot of turnover on the checklist. Gavin Cecchini, veteran of 2012 Bowman Draft and 2012 Bowman Sterling, and Luis Mateo, the Mets version that hasn’t had any cards up until now, not to be confused with the other Luis Mateo, get the Pro Debut stamp here. That’s not a Rookie Card notation though, it just indicates that these guys (and not the 6 other Mets in this set) made their pro debuts in 2012. Likely 2013 rookies Zack Wheeler, Travis d’Arnaud, and Wilmer Flores also appear here in the base set and manufactured hat logo patches, plus Flores has some 2012 Futures Game jersey and patch cards. Just ignore the team for d’Arnaud…
3 July 2013 – Bowman Inception
New for 2013, Bowman has gone premuim. As in thick cards, dynamic designs, fancy finishes, and, for once, no chipping. And autographs, autographs, autographs. Autographs, autographs. Five per pack/box to be exact, with no base cards or other filler. Representing the Mets once again is Jeurys Familia with RC autographs in every color of the rainbow. Wait, non-parallel autograph cards with the RC logo? How does that make any sense? Are the RC autos considered the base cards in the absense of an actual base set? We’re talking about a 15-card set here. How the heck is this even considered an MLB product when there are barely any MLB players?
The bulk of the autographs in Bowman Inception are from prospects. For the Mets, that means the first Mets autographs from Travis d’Arnaud. They aren’t first cards, Rookie Cards, or even first Mets cards, but they sure look good. Rounding out the Mets contingent is a Jose Reyes 2001 Bowman sapphire rookie reprint. Screw Rookie Cards, these are some must-haves.
12 July 2013 – Gonzalez Germen Debuts
His middle name is “German.” I’m just pointing that out here because you probably won’t be seeing it on a cardback anytime soon.
31 July 2013 – Bowman Platinum
Less than a month after the last Bowman product (they really should space these things out a little more…), Bowman Platinum launched with loads of rookies and prospects. Jeurys Familia has more Rookie Cards here with three parallel versions. So that’s four more Familia RCs for those of you keeping score at home. But wait, there’s more Familia…
…in the autographs! As redemptions. Familia has a variety of relic and patch autographs, but since they’re all redemptions, we have no idea what the material is or whether they count as RCs. They shouldn’t, but who knows what will be on the cards (or when we’ll get them…). Zack Wheeler’s auto relics feature pieces of his 2012 Futures Game jersey, one of the sleeves to be precise. Sadly, Topps now considers the seam between two fabric panels to be a patch, so some of the “patch” cards may not contain actual patches. The final member of the autograph trio is Luis Mateo with his first MLB-licensed cards in the base autograph set. This is the first Mets prospect autograph (non-RC or draft pick) since 2011. Fun fact: 2011 Bowman Platinum featured autographs from two Mets, Brad Holt and Matt Harvey. Brad Holt is no longer in the organization and Matt Harvey signed his 2011 Bowman Platinum autographs only a few days before 2013 Bowman Platinum launched. It’s been a bleak couple of years for Mets prospect cards.
Mets prospects were all over the base prospect set and other inserts, though it was a group of familiar faces. Zack Wheeler, Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, and Gavin Cecchini made up the Mets team set in the prospect base and refractors, Wheeler, d’Arnaud, and Syndergaard were represented in the Top Prospects inserts, and Hansel Robles made his second Topps appearance in the Diamonds in the Rough inserts.
31 July 2013 – Topps Mini
Originally released as a convention exclusive and then as an online exclusive, Topps Mini is the same as base Topps, only smaller. Smaller cards and smaller print runs for the parallels. We already knew who the Rookie Cards would be, but a surprise was the first Mets card for Marlon Byrd. Actually, it was his first (and so far only) card in 2013.
6 August 2013 – Wilmer Flores Debuts
The mystery of how the Mets would get playing time for Wilmer Flores was solved when David Wright went on the DL in early August. Flores was called up soon afterward to fill in at third base, with the possibility of getting some time at first and second to help figure out what to do with him long-term. Debuting in August is not a good way to get Rookie Cards this year though, but there should be enough time to squeeze him into some of the October releases if Topps is properly motivated. Don’t count on it.
14 August 2013 – Panini Pinnacle
A 2013 Panini product? Yes! That means more pseudo-RCs of Jeurys Familia and Collin McHugh and, what’s this? Zack Wheeler? Did Panini actually scoop Topps on this one? Not if you don’t count Panini cards as “true” RCs, but it is the first Zack Wheeler card with “RC” on the front. Familia and McHugh also have RC autographs, non-parallel RC-logo autographs at that. This is the first certified autograph for McHugh. As for whether these count as Rookie Cards, rookie cards, or whatever else, um, beats me.
17 August 2013 – Travis d’Arnaud d’Ebuts
Procreation has its downsides, as John Buck found out when he went on paternity leave and came back as the backup to d’Arnaud. And was then traded a few days later. That leaves d’Arnaud, recovered from an injury that delayed his debut (like the next guy on this list) as the starting catcher for the foreseeable future. He should have a big hobby presence in 2014, but don’t expect too much else in 2013. After those Bowman Inception autos, do you really need anything else?
28 August 2013 – Topps Tier One
And here’s the final product of the first two-thirds of the year, Tier One. I’m never really sure what to make of this one, mainly because it has nothing terribly unique and does nothing particularly well. Metallic autographs maybe? The rest is fairly generic and far less impressive than it seems to think it should be. Take these Familia autos for example. Like Bowman Inception, there’s no base set here, but these are not marked as Rookie Cards. There are two different ones though, probably so they could double-print the junk autos without increasing the maximum print runs. For all the fancy stuff on the top and bottom, the middle is decidedly mediocre. Two autographs per $100 three-card box and at least one of them is likely to be something like this. I feel dirty legitimizing this product by spending a couple of dollars on these cards.
29 August 2013 – Matt den Dekker Debuts
Sneaking in at the wire is Matt den Dekker with a debut just a hair before rosters expand. As a 25-man roster member, he is the last new 2013 Met to be eligible for some Rookie Cards. With only four months left in the year though, there’s little chance that we see any den Dekker RCs in 2013. That means a full year of RC-eligibility in 2014 though, which isn’t that bad. Better strengthen up that wrist, Topps is going to need a few thousand autograph cards…
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