2015 Panini Contenders Baseball preview

UPDATE (11/4): 2015 Panini Contenders Baseball will be released on November 11. Panini has announced some additional details about the product and its checklist.

• Collectors will find 54 players who have NEVER had an autograph on the market including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Victor Robles and Wei-Chih Huang.
• On Average 2 boxes per case will deliver a Kyle Schwarber (2016 RC), Corey Seager (2016 RC) or Yoan Moncada autograph!
• 30% of the autographs will either be sequentially numbered to 99 or less/or an SP
• 4 boxes in every case will deliver a 7^th Autograph “bonus hit”
• For the 1^st time ever Contenders will feature the USA Collegiate Baseball National Team prospects – many of which should be drafted in the first round of next year’s draft!
• Find Autographs of 2016 Rookies like Stephen Piscotty, Aaron Nola, Trea Turner, Luis Severino, Michael Conforto and Robert Refsnyder.
• Collectors will find notable Autographs of NCAA baseball icons Jameis Winston, John Elway, Russell Wilson, Barry Larkin, Bo Jackson, Craig Biggio, Dave Winfield, Frank Howard, Frank Thomas, Fred Lynn, Mike Schmidt, Paul Molitor, Rafael Palmeiro, Randy Johnson, Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, Tony Gwynn and Will Clark.
• Autograph checklist is full of Baseball’s top 100 minor league prospects and top 30 International prospects including Aaron Judge, Alex Bregman, Brendan Rodgers, Daz Cameron, Brent Honeywell, Hunter Renfroe, Brett Phillips, Carson Fulmer, Dansby Swanson, Dillon Tate, Franklin Barreto, Gleyber Torres, Julio Urias, Manuel Margot, Orlando Arcia, Ozhaino Albies, Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Yadier Alvarez, Yoan Lopez, Wander Javier, Gilbert Lara, Lucius Fox, Jeison Guzman and Carlos Vargas.

Panini is bringing back a baseball-themed version of Contenders, thanks in large part to their recently acquired college licensing agreements. 2015 Panini Contenders Baseball will mark the first time in four years that the brand gets a baseball release. The set will focus much of its attention on recent college draft picks and  current and former MLB players that played college baseball. International players and members of USA Baseball will be included as well. Hobby boxes of Contenders Baseball will come with six autographs.

In typical Contenders fashion most of the sets use a “ticket” theme with different levels of parallels and varying degrees of scarcity (Season, Playoff, Championship, International, Cracked Ice, etc.)

Many of the top players selected in the 2015 MLB Draft are in Contenders baseball, including Dansby Swanson, Alex Bergman, Carson Fulmer and Dillon Tate. Several hot prospects that have made appearances in the majors are also featured, like Kyle Schwarber, Luis Severino and Aaron Nola. Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada makes his Panini debut with signed cards in Contenders, he has previously appeared in Leaf products. Yankees prospect Aaron Judge also appears as a member of Fresno State. Panini makes use of its USA Baseball license with USA Baseball tickets. This gives collectors more opportunities to find Schwarber, Fullmer and Swanson as well as Corey Saeger, DJ Peterson and Matt Olson.

Retired baseball legends appear in sets such as Old School Colors and Alumni Ink. Deion Sanders, Reggie Jackson, Randy Johnson, Mark McGwire, Frank Thomas, Will Clark, Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Tony Gwynn and Mike Schmidt are just some of former stars and hall of famers that can be found in 2015 Contenders Baseball. You’ll even find a few football players that also excelled on the diamond in college, like John Elway, Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson. College Connections Signatures are dual auto cards that pair up players from the past and present that went to the same school.

2015 Panini Contenders Baseball Hobby Box

Product Features

• 24 packs per box, 8 cards per pack
• 6 AUTOGRAPHS PER BOX
• Find Yoan Moncada & Dansby Swanson autos!
• Find Luis Severino & Kyle Schwarber autos!
• Look for Vlad Jr. and Gleyber Torres Autos!

More Info