No Logos, But Donruss Elite Extra Set for Release

Panini America is showing off additional images for its first MLBPA-licensed product in several years. The company's 2011 Donruss Elite Extra line didn't quite make its December 21 release date, but company officials say it will definitely be available next week. Panini has permission to use images of players but isn't licensed by MLB itself so that means a prospect-heavy set and no team logos or trade marks can be shown. That is often a turn off for collectors, but the Donruss brand did have a strong fan base before the company lost its MLB license. The company is clearly hoping the allure of autographs from potential future stars will be a draw.

Just 25 big leaguers and 150 prospects make up the base set. There are 50 different on card autograph signers including more than 30 first round draft picks.

Extra Edition will have 20 packs per box and include six autographs from a checklist that includes 150 total signers, while four Hot Boxes per 20-box case will yield an average of 10 autographs. That means each case will deliver an average of 136 prospect autographs.

Other highlights include:

New Building Blocks Dual, Triple and Quad Autographs inserts, with Quads numbered to 10
The Best Compared To insert compares a 2011 Draft Pick to a current big leaguer with autographed versions signed by the prospect numbered to 25
The Two-Sport Stars insert highlights top baseball prospects who also excelled in other sports at the high school or college level
Aspirations Signature Die-Cuts (#’d to 100), Blue Status Signature Die-Cuts (#’d to 50), Emerald Status Signature Die-Cuts (#’d to 25), Gold Status Signature Die-Cuts (#’d to 5) and Black Status Signature Die-Cuts (#’d to 1)
Non-autographed versions of the parallel die-cuts are numbered to no higher than 200 and to as low as 10 per copy.