2019 Topps Total Wave Two

I've already waxed poetic about the things wrong with the comeback of Topps Total in the review of Wave One. The price point and distribution is all wrong for the type of card Topps Total is supposed to be. For good or for bad, we are now stuck with this well intentioned monstrosity.

Wave two is similar to wave one. There are another one hundred cards in the set. It is only available in ten card packs for ten dollars on the Topps website. If you miss the window, you are thrown to the wolves of the secondary market.

The print run for wave two is 753, which is considerably lower than wave one. There are the numbered parallels and the random autographs too. All to create the illusion that you might be able to get value out of your purchase. That is truly in the eye of the beholder. I don't put much stock into this release, but I'm sure there are those who do.

The White Sox have four cards in wave two.

132 - Yolmer Sanchez
140 - Daniel Palka
142 - Caleb Frare
164 - Yonder Alonso

To say the player selection in wave two is underwhelming would be an understatement. I like Yolmer, but he is not going to set the collecting world on fire. He is a great clubhouse presence, but he is a placeholder player, unless he really elevates his game another few levels. I like Daniel Palka, but he needs to figure out how to adjust quicker or he's going to be the ultimate AAAA player. I like Caleb Frare, but it's a bit too early to say how he's going to ultimately fit in the bullpen. He could surprise us all and be elite one day. Yonder's time with the White Sox resulted in a .178 batting average. That is 72 points below his lowest batting average with any team he has been with. His previous low was .250 with the Cleveland Indians in 2018. Alonso is currently hitting .317 with the Rockies through twenty-five games. Let that sink in. It can't all be explained by playing in Colorado.

The only way this wave gets more depressing is if they added Odrisamer Despaigne, Ervin Santana and A.J. Reed. Don't get me wrong. I like all the players that have been on the White Sox (except for Nick Swisher). There are just some players that are more exciting than others. These four players probably sounded a lot more promising in the planning stages. That happens. We'll see if things get more exciting in wave three.