Ryan Allen Mountcastle is a 26-year-old American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. Since making his MLB debut in 2020, he has quickly become a fan favorite in Baltimore and one to watch for collectors of baseball cards.
Mountcastle was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round, 36th overall, of the 2015 MLB Draft out of high school. Upon being drafted, he began appearing as a prospect in minor league and rookie level sets from brands like Topps, Bowman, Leaf, and Panini. Some of his earliest baseball cards include 2015 Topps Draft Picks & Prospects, 2015 Bowman Baseball, and 2015 Panini Prizm Draft Picks.
In 2016, Mountcastle began to draw more attention from collectors as he started moving up the minor league ladder. He had strong seasons that year for Low-A Delmarva and High-A Frederick, slashing .312/.353/.484 over 121 games. This performance landed him in higher-end sets like 2016 Bowman Sterling and 2016 Topps Chrome. Parallels and autographs from these sets have gained value as Mountcastle has become an MLB regular.
Mountcastle continued to impress in the minors in 2017 and 2018, reaching the Triple-A level by 2018 at age 21. This kept him in the spotlight on prospect lists and resulted in more appearance in sets like 2017 Bowman Draft, 2017 Topps Series 2, and 2018 Topps Chrome Update. It was clear he was on the cusp of a major league debut.
2019 saw Mountcastle finally get his first extended taste of Triple-A action with the Norfolk Tides, where he hit .312 with 25 home runs and 83 RBIs over 123 games. This breakout season led to more notable cards in the 2019 Topps Update Series and Topps Transcendent Collection sets. Mountcastle mania was growing, and collectors started to snap up his prospects cards ahead of an expected call up.
On August 21, 2020, the Orioles promoted Mountcastle to the major leagues for the first time. In 23 games to finish out the shortened season, he hit .333 with 4 home runs and 23 runs batted in. This had collectors scrambling for his 2020 Bowman Draft Chrome Sapphire autograph and hot rookie cards like the 2020 Topps Chrome Update Series Blue Refractor parallel. Mountcastle had officially arrived on the MLB scene.
The 2021 season was Mountcastle’s first full campaign in the big leagues, and he put any lingering doubts to rest by slashing .255/.304/.433 with 33 home runs and 83 RBIs over 150 games. This breakout rookie year resulted in his defining baseball card as the prized short printed foil parallel from 2021 Topps Update Series, as well as desirable parallels like Gold /50 and Yellow /10 from 2021 Topps Finest. As an AL Rookie of the Year candidate, his 2021 cards vastly outperformed expectations.
Entering 2022, Mountcastle has cemented himself as one of the top young sluggers in baseball playing for the Baltimore Orioles. He’s continued to produce at the plate while receiving Defensive Player of the Year consideration for his play at first base. Mountcastle remains a favorite of collectors chasing emerging stars. New releases this year like 2022 Topps Series 1 highlight his ascension into the upper echelons of the sport.
Looking ahead, as long as Mountcastle keeps mashing in Charm City, his baseball cards should hold steady or rising in value in the years to come. Autograph cards are increasingly difficult to uncover in the secondary market. With his perennial All-Star potential, one day we may see 1-of-1 Mountcastle cards and premium memorabilia pieces selling for thousands. For now, collectors can still find reasonable copies of his early prospect rainbows across the hobby. The continued success of Ryan Mountcastle is great for both the Orioles and the collectors chasing his stellar young career.
