2016 Topps NOW Baseball - The First 158

Topps has kept the NOW cards a comin' since our last update on May 29, releasing another 52 cards in the past 20 days. In our second update on May 4, we did a little math and estimated that the NOW set might feature around 300 cards by season's end... At the current rate of issue, we'll have to bump that estimate up to 350 or so by season's end. 

Back on May 29 we highlighted the fifteen cards with the highest print runs, as well as the fifteen with the lowest. Beginning with an updated list of the fifteen highest print runs, we see a few new cards on the list that are highlighted in red:

#57          Bartolo Colon          8,826

#68          Max Scherzer          3,746

#69      Noah Syndergaard      3,670

#102         Julio Urias RC         2,992

#154         Ichiro Suzuki         2,798

#123      Corey Seager RC      1,900

#30          Jake Arrietta          1,808

#29            Kris Bryant            1,644

#12       Nomar Mazara RC       1,427

#59          Bryce Harper          1,366

#11         Tyler White RC         1,350

#9         Trevor Story RC         1,298

#20          Bryce Harper          1,286

#129     Cubs (Dual-Sided)     1,278

#122        Trea Turner RC        1,276

King Bartolo is in no danger of losing his crown when it comes to the highest print run. Ichiro's status as the all-time hit leader among Japanese and American pro baseball gave him a respectable run of 2,798 cards, but still not in the same time zone as Colon. Two new rookies, Corey Seager and Trea Turner, entered the list while three dropped off of it (Mazara, Story and Maeda). The fourth card to crack the above list is the first dual-front NOW card to be printed, which features four star players from the Chicago Cubs (in recognition of their fast pace to win 40 games this season).

While just two new cards have snuck on to the fifteen lowest print runs list since the last update, one of them has managed to take the top position. Twelve-year veteran and Blue Jays all-star Edwin Encarnacion's card released on June 11 has a print run of just 207, edging out former chart-topper Evan Gattis' run of 212. Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker grabs the fourth spot on the list with a print run of 216 cards. All of these are definitely worth keeping an eye on:

#141   Edwin Encarnacion   207

#79          Evan Gattis          212

#67        Chris Iannetta        215

#144     Matt Shoemaker     216

#52     Piscotty/Holliday     217

#24      Melvin Upton Jr.      226

#78      Kendrys Morales      227

#51         Corey Kluber         229

#53     Colorado Rockies     231

#8          Albert Pujols          244

#22           Chris Sale           244

#26         John Lackey         244

#58           Aaron Hill           246

#49        Justin Smoak        252

#66     Marwin Ganzalez     253

Mariner Dae-ho Lee maintains the lowest print run for a rookie with 363, but another rookie with a slightly higher run, Trayce Thompson, is one to watch. With a run of 431, the 25 year-old Dodgers' slugger has the potential to be a longball hitter for years to come (he also has a second card in the set with a run of 566). As we mentioned on the last update, Rangers rookie star Nomar Mazara is featured on three cards thus far in the NOW set, with his second card (#47) having a print run of just 468. Definitely keep an eye on the Mazara and Thompson issues.

These are attractive cards, and Topps has managed to build a nice fanbase of NOW collectors. If I had to choose one thing I didn't like about the set thus far, it would be the overuse of Gatorade/water celebration shots; I'd hate to see 20 or more of them by season's end!

As always, collect whatever makes you happy. Most collectors can't afford to purchase these cards on a daily basis, but you can guarantee that more bundle-style and pick-'em deals will be listed on eBay in the weeks to come. 

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