Featured autograph - Kenta Maeda

I picked up a certified autograph card of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher - since he ended up as another scratch the itch guy whose autograph I haven't gotten a chance to get.

The Japanese import made a seamless transition to the major leagues - as he struck out 179 hitters in 175 innings, while winning a team high 16 games for the Dodgers this past year.

2016 Bowman hand collated set

Bowman is the flagship brand of prospects and rather than buying into the product by picking up a blaster and loose packs - I went with the sure thing and for about the same price, went with a full paper 300-card set featuring veterans, rookies and prospects.

Admittedly, it's the Chrome autographs and related parallels prospectors are chasing - so presumably the big volume breakers dump the basic cards in various ways [hand-collated sets, lots, team sets] as a complement to whatever key cards they may pull and speculate on.

The Maeda is my first U.S. card of the 28-year old Japanese rookie sensation - by the end of the year, it will likely be his least important card [actually a prospect card and not a MLB rookie logo card], but it's nice to have at the moment before there are all sorts of cards printed for the guy.