Rolling along with 2014 Baseball, Topps released info on 2014 Bowman Chrome, which will play off the previous release of Bowman Baseball earlier in the year. I have always seen Chrome playing second fiddle in terms of the prospect hierarchy, but this year looks to be a bit different in some of the content.

I will say that the photo updates over base Bowman usually look better though:

2010 Bowman Chrome Stephen Strasburg Auto Refractor

2012 Bowman Chrome Bryce Harper Auto BGS 9.5

2012 Bowman Chrome Yu Darvish Auto BGS 9.5

2013 Bowman Chrome Yasiel Puig Auto Blue Refractor BGS 9.5

To be completely honest, im usually pretty disengaged with the prospecting side of things by the time this product comes out, but this could be the first Chrome autos of Masahiro Tanaka, if/when Topps eventually gets him signed to a deal. That will OBVIOUSLY get some of the bigger reactions in the hobby, especially if he doesnt have autographs prior.

Im also pretty happy that Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano will continue to get attention as a Twins fan, and these melted die cuts do look pretty cool. Its an interesting idea, as we can see the lame joke they imply. Im pretty curious how these will look in person, but Im always up for more on card content.

We also have gotten word of new bubble and carbon fiber design refractors which will either be really cool or as lame as the hideous lava flow from Panini's camp. More refractors are always welcome, as they continue to drive box value above and beyond the autographs in the packs. I saw on twitter that the bubble refractors may look something like this, but I guess we will have to wait.

Again, maybe im a biased lens for looking at this, because im not as connected to this type of a set. Bowman's initial release is always fun, as it usually has the first cards of the previous draft. Im not sure how this will shake out, but maybe the arrival of some big guys to the majors will supplement the set.