Box Break: 2008 Bowman Draft Hobby (Aflac Auto)

I've been on a bit of prospecting spree lately, a choice made easier by the utter lack of new products being released. As crazy as it sounds, I had a gut feeling that if I was going to buy a box, it had to be a box of 2008 Bowman Draft. The feeling was so strong that I spent some money I didn't really have to get a box off eBay, and as luck would have it, the decision turned out pretty well. You've already seen the best card out of this box but here are the rest of the inserts to get a better idea about how the product looks:

Brent Morel Blue Border Parallel #69/399: The blue border parallels fall about one per box and work fairly well with the design of the base cards. My blue border was of White Sox third base prospect Brent Morel, a third round pick of the team who just got promoted to Triple A. He's a career .298 hitter in the minor leagues so there's a chance this card may raise in value from $1 to $2. I guess that's just what makes prospecting so much fun.

Will Inman Rookie Refractor: The refractors from this set look phenomenal in person--really some of the nicest looking refractor cards I have ever seen. The first one I pulled was of Padres' pitcher Will Inman, who was originally drafted by the Brewers in 2005. The 23-year-old right hander has put together a solid minor league career and is currently sporting a 3.42 ERA at Triple-A Portland. The Padres' already have a surplus of pitching, so maybe he'll be moved at the deadline this year when the team looks for more offense. At least he's still in baseball.

Lou Marson Futures Game Refractor: Marson came to the Indians as the part of the Cliff Lee trade and started 2010 as Cleveland's primary catcher. He's struggled at the plate and is likely only keeping the seat warm till top prospect Carlos Santana gets called up, but Marson did hit three doubles a few days after I pulled this card, so that's something. Right?

Kevin Dubler X-Fractor Rookie #68/199: After nearly being blinded by the shine of this card (I first thought it was a Gordon Beckham auto) I realized that I had pulled an x-fractor of someone with a great baseball name. Unfortunately, Dubler hasn't lived up to his surname yet, with just 14 two-baggers in over 300 minor league at-bats. There's still time, but I don't plan on stocking up on his cards just yet. I would love to get an x-fractor auto from this set--it would look stellar.

Carlos Gutierrez First Year Auto: Well, thank goodness for the next card, because this is one of the worst autographs in the product. Carlos Gutierrez was a first round pick of the Minnesota Twins out of the University of Miami and has struggled to live up to his potential after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He's currently in Double-A but it looks like he is still a long way off from the big leagues. Though I was upset that I didn't pull a good chrome auto with so many good names available, I quickly realized that I couldn't feel too bad after I pulled the Heyward. That's just selfish.

Jason Heyward Aflac Auto: Sold for $499...nuff said.

Overall Thoughts: If you can find a box of 2008 Draft between $80-90 it's a great buy. There's an amazing checklist of future stars (Jesus Montero, Mike Stanton, Ike Davis, Buster Posey, Gordon Beckham, Wilmer Flores, etc.) and if you pull a parallel version of an autograph you're in for a nice payday. There's also an outside shot at a Jason Heyward Aflac Auto, though a bit less so after this box :) The base chrome cards have a nice design and the refractors look great in person. If you like prospecting, and are looking at fun high risk/high reward type box, then I would highly recommend 2008 Draft. I'm using my earnings from this break to buy a few more boxes so stay tuned for a couple of box breaks in the next week.

As always, thanks for dropping by!