I picked up this set again. I had to. Even though I have lamented the shrinking size of the sets over the years. This year's set is ten cards with a parallel. There were autograph options, but those sets were prohibitively expensive for me at a time when I had some massive car repairs. So, who is in the set this year?
1. Rafael Devers. Of course he is in the set. He came into the season as the biggest star on the team.
2. Walker Buehler. Buehler was expected to be the #2 man in the rotation, but he has struggled greatly this season. Lately he has been better, but it has still been a rough year.
3. Ceddanne Rafaela. Definitely a good choice for the set. Rafaela looked like a potential future star after his rookie season, though with some flaws. Again, this is my favorite player going forward.
4. Trevor Story. He is certainly a big name, but he only played in 26 games with the Red Sox in 2024. He has been much better this season though.
5. Masataka Yoshida. Yoshida is another popular name, though he has not really lived up to his potential thus far.
6. Garrett Crochet. The team's biggest acquisition better be in the set.
7. Jarren Duran. Devers was the team's biggest star, but Duran had the best season in 2024. He led the league in doubles (48) and triples (14), while hitting .285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs, 75 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. It was an incredibly dynamic season.
8. Triston Casas. Like Story, Casas is a big name, but only played in 63 games in the season.
9. Alex Bregman. Bregman was the biggest free agent signing, so he better be in the set too.
10. Aroldis Chapman. I talked before about not being a big Bregman fan, so his signing was not something I was really clamoring for, well, Chapman is an even more extreme example of that. He has had some issues off the field that I just was not a big fan, but he has been amazing this season.
11. Alex Bregman. My parallel was the green foil. Unfortunately, this is the most common parallel, numbered to 99.
So, who is missing from the set egregiously?
1. Wilyer Abreu. I am surprised by this because he was fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2024 and won the Gold Glove.
2. Tanner Houck. He was an All Star in 2024.
3. Brayan Bello. He had an uneven season, but led the team in wins.
4. Kristian Campbell. I do think it was a surprise that he made the Opening Day roster, but Topps doesn't usually miss opportunities to do cards of hot prospects.
5. Connor Wong. He had a good year in 2024, hitting .280/.333/.425 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs as a catcher.
6. David Hamilton. He stole 33 bases and looked like a really good player for awhile.
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