The 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge - Day 15

"One of your favorite cards from the 2010s."

2010 Topps Pro Debut Mike Trout #181 - as an Angels fan, a favorite card from this decade needed to picture the best player in the game, six years running.

Featured autograph - Jefry Marte

I give myself a part on the back whenever I've gotten some random player's autograph and he is picked up and plays at some point for the Angels - I got Marte to sign this card back when he was a prospect in the New York Mets organization.

Marte has put in time with the Angels this year, has some pop in his bat and is only 25 - at this point however, Marte is nothing to get too excited about since he's an unproven guy playing on a dead end team.

R.I.P Ryan Bolden 1991-2014

I had six cards of Bolden in a discard pile, not knowing what to do with cards of a failed Angels prospect - last week, I learned that he was shot and killed over a kids' argument about candy; now his life cut short, the cards I have are headed to my 'beyond the glory' mini-collection as sort of a tribute to the young man.

Featured autograph - Marc Krauss

If he makes the Angels, he'll fill the valuable role occupied by Brennan Boesch this past season - at the very least, if Krauss does play in one game for the Angels in 2015, I don't have to worry about picking up his autograph for the all-time Angels autograph collection.

A scrub for scrub trade

The Angels picked up Jose Alvarez, a little soft tossing lefty from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for shortstop / utility man Andrew Romine - who never really had a chance to play every day in the big leagues, but might get a prolonged look to fill in at shortstop after the Tigers lost Jose Iglesias for the season.

I know little of Alvarez except for having a lone 2010 Topps Pro Debut card - sometimes I wonder if some of these random minor league guys [either pictured on Bowman prospect cards or Topps Pro Debut] will ever reach the major leagues, but the 24-year old Alvarez did so last year [though the results weren't all that pretty].

Featured autograph - Alex Torres

He has put up great numbers as a reliever in 2013 though it remains to be seen where his future will be - I'm guessing the Rays will probably look to use him as trade bait in the off-season since the organization is always loaded with pitching.

If Torres does stick around next season, maybe the Tampa Bay Rays will try and stretch him out as a starting pitcher - especially when the former Angels farmhand has been a starter for much of his professional career in the minors.

As far as the autograph, I made my mind up to have to Torres sign it on the material part since it looks cool like that - unfortunately the material is dark and all I had to get the card inked up with, was an ancient silver Sharpie from 2010.

Obviously the results were not good - I was out of luck as far as getting a nice, bold autograph.

I got Torres to sign the card a second time [originally where he was going to sign it] - he did a double take, saying it was already signed.

I got two autographs on one card, which is sort of unique but silly at the same time - even though it's just a fish story, I'll just say the faint autograph on the material piece was on there when Topps cut up the swatch for the card.

Autograph request through the mail received: Devin Mesoraco

Devin Mesoraco c/o Cincinnati Reds [spring training] - the Reds rookie catcher signed my two cards, including a 2011 Topps Heritage 'setter.' I sent the request on 2/22/12 and my SASE with my cards signed snuck into my mailbox probably two or three days ago, on 8/15.

Autograph request through the mail received: Jerry Sands

Jerry Sands c/o Los Angeles Dodgers [spring training] - signed my card in black ink in about a month or so.

Sands has put up big numbers in the minor leagues but has seemingly gone under the radar - while it looks like he'll start the season in the minor leagues, it isn't a stretch to say he'll get his call to the Major Leagues sooner than later.

Featured autograph - Mike Trout

Mike Trout, the future of the Angels is probably just a couple of years away from reaching the Major Leagues - the autographed card was signed in-person by Trout before a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes game in 2010.

The Quakes, the Angels' advanced A affiliate in the California League up through 2010 now has switched organization this past off-season and is now part of the Dodgers' chain - in 2011, the Angels' advanced A team in the California League will be in the Inland Empire 66ers.

Maybe not as big or really new information, but as spring training gets through the middle part of the schedule - the affiliation change maybe something to think about when seeing possible California League minor league games this upcoming year.

2010 Topps Pro Debut I pack break #5

Pack five
#190 Keon Broxton
#126 Brock Holt
#193 Ben Tootle
#93 Edwin Gomez
#DA-19 Reegie Corona - Double A All-Stars

#161 Brett Pill
#48 Robbie Widlansky
#35 Jeremy Bleich

2010 Topps Pro Debut I pack break #4

Pack four
#45 Robbie Ross
#7 Christian Bethancourt
#100 Michael Ohlman

#PDA-LC Lonnie Chisenhall - autograph / trapped sticker
#47 Carlos Triunfel
#211 Pil Joon Jang
#204 Billy Nowlin

2010 Topps Pro Debut I pack break #3

Pack three
#83 Chris Dwyer
#151 Brooks Raley
#68 Jeff Kobernus
#172 Kyle Conley

#SA-3 Jimmy Paredes - Single A All-Stars
#8 Brett Wallace - Wallace is pictured with Oakland's AAA team in Sacramento, though he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during this past off-season.
#137 Jason Van Kooten
#179 Damon Sublett

2010 Topps Pro Debut I pack break #2

Pack two
#140 Caleb Thielbar
#108 Chris McGuiness

#154 Tony Sanchez - the No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
#TA-23 Justin Lehr - Triple-A All-Stars; journeyman style, since Lehr has pitched in 77 games in the Major Leagues, but has bounced around professional baseball otherwise.
#74 Jose Alvarez
#138 Jeff Malm - I know he's been on at least one Upper Deck printed USA card.
#22 Derrik Gibson
#169 Tony Delmonico - I don't know much about him, except he is in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system and is currently catching after being drafted as an infielder. I know that much because I have his 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition card and was looking him up to see who he was because I thought he was with the Angels [wrong].

2010 Topps Pro Debut I pack break #1

Pack one [eight cards per pack] - I bought five packs of these and had to get my fix of these new Topps minor league cards, even though I overpaid to the tune of $4.99 per pack.

#102 Nate Freiman
#50 Josh Phegley
#85 Luke Murton

#104 Jordan Pacheco - gold parallel; serial #'d 20/50; the bottom left-hand corner is kind of soft.

#DA-1 Miguel Abreu - Double-A All-Stars

#25 Jefry Marte - I like to 'sound out' the names of players with 'funny' spelling names like a 'Jefry.' I think the explanation I've heard during baseball broadcast is mistakes are often made when recording names on birth certificates in the Dominican Republic i.e. 'Jhonny Peralta.'
#213 Mark Sorensen
#118 Pedro Figueroa

I plead ignorance as far as knowing who these players are - though the point of picking up packs of Topps Pro Debut I rather than Topps MLB is to kind of figure who the next up-and-comers are or at least have cards [to get signed in-person or through the mail] in-hand of minor leaguers who may play in the Major Leagues one day [or not].