The 2022 baseball season saw the release of Panini’s popular Optic brand card set. As with every year, Optic delivers sharp photography and design but also some of the most sought after rookie cards and parallels on the trading card market. While it’s still early, here is a look at some of the top 2022 Optic baseball cards and their emerging value as the hobby economy and player performances dictate card prices.
Perhaps the biggest story of the 2022 baseball season was Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani having an absolutely historic year, hitting 34 home runs and striking out 156 batters on the mound. Not surprisingly, Ohtani’s rookie cards from Optic are some of the set’s most valuable. His base refractors can be found for $60-80 while his purple refractors and pink pulsars fetch $150-250 depending on condition. Ohtani also has 1/1 parallels that are true prizes for any collector with only one of each design printed. Most recently an Ohtani pink 1/1 sold for over $1400 on eBay.
Another breakout star was Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez. Rodriguez dazzled all season with power, speed, and highlight reel defense in centerfield while becoming a fan favorite. His popularity and potential have translated to strong early demand for his Optic rookie cards. J-Rod’s base refractors sell in the $40-60 range while his ultra-rare pink and purple parallels top $200-300 right now. Of note, his most valuable parallel is likely the 1/1 pink pulsars which could fetch several thousand or more for the singular cards. Rodriguez looks like a true budding star and his cards hold great long term potential.
Two of the biggest rookies from 2021 also had strong sophomore campaigns and see growing values for their second year Optic cards. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah maintained dominance with a 2.24 ERA over 30 starts. His 2022 Optic base refractors trade around $30 while color refractors reach $75-100 based on parallel. Fellow AL East standout Steven Kwan had a breakout season for the Cleveland Guardians while batting .298 as their leadoff man. Kwan’s Optic second year cards bring $15-25 for base and $40-60 for color versions on the current market. As both players look primed for all-star caliber careers, their Optic rookie and second year cards profiles continue trending up.
Beyond rookies and stars, Optic has given rise in value to many parallels that intrigue collectors. Low population pink and purple refractors that number less than 10 copies total are highly sought after across all players. Examples include pink Gunnar Henderson cards for the Orioles fetchings hundreds due to rarity despite being a rookie who has yet to play in the majors. Optic also inserts hit prospects like Oneil Cruz into their Silver Prizms set at 1/1, driving prices into the thousands based simply on long term potential. With the hobby always on the lookout for the next big thing, cards like these gain traction from savvy traders.
While player performance and popularity dictate the top movers in any given card set, savvy collectors recognize value in parallels and strategic inserts across the entire Optic checklist as well. Rarest of the rare 1/1 parallels on stars like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna Jr., Juan Soto and more hold immense inherent worth despite being years past their rookie seasons. Strategic inserts focusing on accomplishments like Tribute cards for career milestones or Clear Shots highlighting unbelievable plays capture key baseball moments in a visually stunning package that drives fan demand. Even basestars from veterans that may not fetch huge immediate resale can stabilze or increase in the long run as part of a prized complete set.
In the continued evolution of the trading card industry towards a more experience and collectible based model, sets like Panini Optic Football deliver top notch production quality and an annual photographic time capsule of the sport at its highest level. While on-field performance and rookie card hype drives short term fluctuations, shrewd long term collectors recognize Optic’s place highlighting the best that baseball has to offer each season through a dynamic lens. Between the combination of massive stars, major rookies and the alluring low population parallels, 2022 Optic remains one of the year’s most intriguing releases for speculation, collection building and pure on-card enjoyment of the game. Savvy investors would do well to consider strategic additions from this seminal baseball card set as values across the entire checklist are poised to rise in the years to come.
