Topps Factory Team Set

I did luck out and manage to find one of these at Walmart this year.  I was looking for packs, but when I found one Red Sox team set among all the Yankees, Cubs, Royals and Twins sets, I was very happy to grab it instead.

This set had 17 cards in it, a good chance to get most of the team going into the season, though there are some obvious missing players.

1.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  I find it very interesting that Rafaela was the top card in the set.  Not Devers.  Not Casas.  Not Duran.  Ceddanne.  

2.  Triston Casas.  Casas is going through his second straight injury-plagued season.

3.  Rafael Devers.  Devers was the team's biggest star going into the season, but has of course now been traded away.

4.  David Hamilton.  Hamilton had a nice season and was second on the team in stolen bases despite not playing the full season.  His speed is electrifying.

5.  Tanner Houck.  Expected to be the number two going into the year, Houck was really bad, and now looks like he will need Tommy John surgery.  He will likely not pitch again until 2027.  A real shame.

6.  Connor Wong.  Expected to be the starting catcher going into the year, a dislocated pinky finger shut him down for awhile and he is just now showing signs of playing better.  Carlos Narvaez has been a real gem though in his stead.

7.  Masataka Yoshida.  Yoshida has had a rough year this year as well.  I feel like he may be nearing the end of his time in Boston.

8.  Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu has been Boston's biggest power threat this season.  If he can start hitting lefties a bit better, he could be a star.  I definitely need to add cards of him, he is really underrepresented in my collection.

9.  Jarren Duran.  So, is it Duran's team now?  Rafaela's team?  Roman Anthony's team?  Duran had the best season last year, but hasn't done quite as well this year.

10.  Lucas Giolito.  After a rough start to the season coming back from an injury, Giolito has been a very important part of the rotation.  

11.  Garrett Whitlock.  Whitlock has been one of the best relievers in the game, coming back very strong from another injury last year.

12.  Trevor Story.  Story has been another player back from an injury that has really shined this year.  He is on the verge of a 20/20 season and possible Gold Glove.

13.  Brayan Bello.  Bello has been up and down this season, but generally much better than not.  I would love to see him take the next step into being a number two starter.

14.  Kutter Crawford.  I had hopes for Crawford coming into the year, but he has missed the entire season and it looks less and less likely he will return this year.

15.  Richard Fitts.  Fitts was the big acquisition in the trade with the Yankees for Alex Verdugo.  He hasn't been great, but the talent is obviously there for a fine back-of-the-rotation starter.

16.  Nick Sogard.  I talked about him yesterday, so I won't rehash, but he is probably the weirdest selection for this set.

17.  Rob Refsnyder.  Refsnyder has found a home in Boston as a lefty-killer.  Utilized correctly, he is an outstanding addition to the team.

So, who are we missing?  Well, the most obvious is any of the players acquired during the offseason.  I get that Alex Bregman signed pretty late, but Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman were signed early enough and Garrett Crochet was definitely acquired early enough to make it into this set.  Otherwise, maybe Justin Slaten?  They did pretty well this year.  I can't complain too much.