The 2022 Topps baseball card release saw a continuation of rising prices and renewed fan interest in the hobby. While most base rookie cards and parallels saw modest gains, several key rookie cards and unique insert parallel cards exploded in secondary market value.
One of the most notable risers was Jurickson Profar’s ultra-rare 1-of-1 red parallel refractor rookie card. Profar burst onto the scene in 2012 with the San Diego Padres and showed star potential, but injuries hampered his development in the following years. With a fresh start on a winning Yankees team in 2022, Profar enjoyed a career year, batting .238 with 20 home runs. This rekindled interest in his rookie cards from a decade prior, especially the illusive 1-of-1 parallel. Last seen selling for under $100 on eBay in 2019, an ungraded copy astonishingly fetched over $3,500 by season’s end after a bidding war, a thirty-five fold price increase in just three years.
Another Padre who saw his 2012 rookie cards gain was Fernando Tatis Jr. While still sidelined for most of 2022 due to injury, Tatis remained one of baseball’s most exciting stars when healthy. This kept strong demand high for his scarce Topps parallels, with even common refractor and blue parallel rookies now bringing $150-250 each versus $20-50 just two years ago. But the real eye-popping riser was his prized 1-of-1 Topps Finest Firefox red refractor rookie. Last confirmed sale in mid-2021 brought $4,000 ungraded. By late 2022, a PSA-graded gem mint copy stunned the hobby by selling for a staggering $32,000, an incredible eight times price increase in just over a year.
Rookies from the star-studded 2022 draft class also featured prominently. Druw Jones, the son of former baseball star Andruw Jones, was selected second overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks. As one of the top prospects in years with huge upside, Jones mania took hold immediately. His flagship Topps Chrome rookie autos grew to $400-600 on release from hobby stores charging $120-200 per pack. By season’s end, PSA 10 examples eclipsed the $2,000 mark. Washington Nationals selection Elijah Green, as the number one high school position player taken, saw his Topps numbered parallels to 250 copies or less reach the $500-800 range as well.
Veteran stars delivering big MLB seasons also lifted values of their iconic rookie cards. Shohei Ohtani’s MVP caliber 2022 where he slugged 34 home runs and struck out over 200 batters as a dual-threat pitcher reestablished him as the face of baseball. Suddenly, all versions of his scarce 2018 Topps Chrome rookie auto parallels skyrocketed. The ultra-rare 1/1 printing plate auto sold for a record $60,000 in November, ten times the previous sell price from 2019. Even the common auto jumped from under $100 to consistently bringing over $500 each on auction sites.
Mike Trout also remains one of the most valuable modern stars, and his big 2022 that saw him return to dominance kept strong demand for his prized 2009 Topps rookie cards. The lowest-end common non-numbered parallels held at $150-250 each versus under $100 in previous years. But his biggest movers were the rare serial numbered parallels, which shot up wildly. Trout’s prized /25 blue wave parallel leapt from $2,500 raw in early 2022 to over $6,000 by season’s end for PSA 10 copies, while the extremely low print /5 green variants more than doubled from $10,000 to $25,000 on average.
Rookies of stars continuing their ascent also saw gains. Juan Soto signed a massive extension with the Padres and batted .236 with 23 home runs and 24 stolen bases in his first year in San Diego. This reminded collectors of his potential, lifting the prices on his 2018 Topps Chrome Defractors and Stars of MLB inserts. Meanwhile, Ronald Acuña Jr returned strong from his devastating 2021 knee injury and hit .266 with 8 homers in just 46 games before reaggravating the injury. These few games reignited the excitement surrounding his future, causing sets like 2018 Stadium Club Chrome Sapphire parallels to regain lost value and climb above their 2021 sold numbers.
And finally, new player exclusive and short print insert parallel cards released provided opportunity for high upside gain depending on the individual. For example, Topps 2022 Update series featured a rare Salvador Perez Sp image variation parallel serial numbered to /25 copies. Perez had an incredible power season that nearly saw him tie the single season home run record for catchers. This perfect storm of a unique low-number parallel depicting a breakout star resulted in quick sells of $650+ raw, over ten times a common base card value.
2022 proved that while the overall baseball card market remains volatile with collectors’ cash chasing the prospect darlings of each new season, proven superstars delivering MVP caliber campaigns as well as ultra-short print parallel cards continue creating opportunities for multiplexing returns on vintage rookie cardboard investments, especially in high grades. The stage is set in 2023 for another dramatic year of ascents and descents among the coveted and historic contents of the Topps series.
