Adam Dunn (5,000 @ $6.50)

Adam may be a great young player and one hell of a power hitter. But, and a big BUT, is why would I buy a third year card of a semi-star when his second card is $1.50 below IPO? At 5,000 cards there will be 1,000 fewer cards than his 2002 issue. That's not enough motivation for me to buy this card. There are already 10,197 Adam Dunn eTopps cards in existence, not counting this issue. Including the 5,000 that this issue is bringing to the table, there will be over 15,000 cards of his. I just cannot believe the market can handle this much saturation. I'd go for the 2001 issue at just under $16 and forget the other two even exist (unless you collect sets).

Chris Snelling (4,000 @ $6.50)

A pretty decent-looking young outfielder with unlimited potential, Snelling should be on your radar screen. Be ready to take a shot on this up-and-comer. He was placed on the 15-day DL on March 29th after having knee surgery but he should be back on the field before too long. This may spell major opportunity for eTopps investors to grab a few of this young Australian player's card at bargain prices. Although this will likely be below IPO for the short term I'm buying at IPO and so should you. On top of that, it looks like his performance bonus is actually attainable, assuming he makes it on the big league field.

Jim Thome (3,500 @ $6.50)

Thome was one of this offseason's most sought-after free agents and he has found a home in Philly. This guy is a homer-hitting monster who is steadily increasing his production. I, for one, am very impressed with the way he has improved his play year after year. If you are a performance bonus chaser (like I am) take a look at Thome. His are almost a lock. He would have easily eclipsed these marks last year and I'm putting my money where my mouth is for this year. Good luck fighting with me for these! 3,500 PR + monster hitter + performance bonus lock = BUY, BUY, BUY!

Jose Contreras (6,000 @ $9.50)

Well, here we go with a rookie pitcher who is supposed to be all-that and 2 bags of chips. eTopps seems to think so with the $9.50 price tag on this one. I, for one, am going to hold off engraving his name on the Cy Young trophy and try to look at him objectively. First of all, this is a 31-year old rookie pitcher (strike 1); Although he has pitched well in the Cuban leagues, how is he going to fare against the stiffer competition here? (strike 2); How likely is he to reach these performance bonus targets? (strike 3). I won't be buying this one at IPO and will only buy it at a discount. You shouldn't either (unless, again, you are a set collector or a huge Yankees fan).

Miguel Tejada (5,000 @ $6.50)

Another great young shortstop in the majors, Tejada is on a roll. He won the 2002 AL MVP award while leading his team to the playoffs. He has proven that he is right up there with A-Rod and Jeter as far as top-notch shortstops go. His performance bonus targets actually seem pretty attainable. The only question mark would be the 8 stolen bases. But that is only one more than last year's 7 so I'm saying he will have a pretty good shot at meeting his goals. This is his second card with his 2002 selling for about $2 over IPO at the moment with 1,000 fewer issued. I really don't see much driving this card upward besides the fact that he will most likely grab the almighty performance bonus.

Tom Glavine (3,000 @ $6.50)

At 37 years old Tom continues to continually beat hitters at the plate. He won 18 games last year and now some new scenery may just be the spark he needs to return to 20 wins. I really like Glavine and he looks great in a Mets uniform. As far as performance of this card, unless Mets fans really adopt this card it is in trouble. It is Glavine's 3rd card and his 2002 is under $6. So I'm not forking out $6.50 for this card. Although the performance bonus is attainable by somebody of Glavine's caliber, I'd wait to grab some off eBay.