2012 Onyx Authenticated Platinum Prospects Baseball Box Break Recap And Review

It can be difficult to judge first efforts.  There is a part of you that wants to encourage growth but at the same time offer constructive criticism to ensure that mistakes do not turn into bad habits over time.  There is a fine line between being a little more forgiving and not providing enough guidance.  Then, every once in a while, a first effort comes along that does not require a cautious approach. 2012 Onyx Authenticated Platinum Prospects Baseball is one such product.  With this smartly configured set, Onyx enters the trading card world looking like they have been doing this for a long time, but with a fresh approach. Platinum Prospects has features that collectors have been asking for repeatedly and for a long time, like low numbering on every single card, game-used memorabilia that has been personally sent to

Onyx by the players and witnessed autograph cards, both of which are guaranteed by the President of Onyx Authenticated, Lance Fischer. Platinum Prospects has put Onyx on the trading card industry map right out the gate.

Platinum Prospects walks the line between Trading Cards that will appeal to set builders and Premium cards that prospect collectors and hit seekers will appreciate.  For purposes of this review, we have placed these cards in the Premium Cards category.  Each hobby box contains 6 -5 card packs and should yield at least 5 autograph or relic cards with at least 3 of them being auto cards.

Here are some of the cards we pulled.

Base Set -  #/500

Bubba Starling, front and back

Manny Banuelos, Julio Teheran

Limited Edition Silver Series - #/100

Jurickson Profar

Anthony Gose, Casey Crosby

Eric Arce, Guillermo Pimentel

Normar Mazara, Zach Lee

The Hits

Authentic Game-Used Relics - #/100

Casey Crosby, RJ Alaniz

Authentic Autograph

Mike Foltynewicz #/140

Jose Campos #/140, JR Murphy #/145

Overall Look

This is a solid design which utilizes the most one can get out of a non-licensed product.  All pertinent info plus a small write up can be found on the backs of the cards.  The Silver Series parallels are done nicely.  The hit cards are the real standouts.  The memorabilia expands above the card, giving it more heft and import that an ordinary swatch. The Silver Signatures are amazingly well done without a trace of streaking or smudging.

Quality and Variety of Players

This is a tight base set at 50 cards and that is OK. Onyx has demonstrated an uncanny ability to select prospects that, over time, prove their worth.  I’ll take a concentrated group of players who will likely make it to the show over a big checklist of prospects, a large percentage of which are destined to be dropouts.

Do the Hits satisfy?

As mentioned before, just being secure in the fact that everything is guaranteed authentic is very satisfying.  The use of different memorabilia materials than your ordinary swatches, like hats, batting gloves, catcher chest protectors and cleats, along with a select group of good prospects with very well executed autograph cards put these hit cards on par with well established brands, and in some cases, exceeds them.  There are also redemptions for full game-used memorabilia like bats, batting gloves, cleats, caps and autographed baseballs.

Will you keep coming back for more?

Normally in this category you would be looking at “High Risk, High Reward” cards but the risk is greatly decreased by the caliber of prospects and the manageable price point.  It is easy to see multiple box purchases.

Rating 

4 1/2 out of 5

2012 Onyx Authenticated Platinum Prospects Baseball is a superior first effort that will appeal to a wide variety of card collectors.


Review box provided by Onyx Authenticated