Juan Soto has quickly become one of the most exciting young players in Major League Baseball since making his debut in 2018. His prodigious talents and penchant for success at such a young age have captured the attention of fans everywhere. Not surprisingly, Soto’s popularity and collectability have translated to strong interest from the baseball card hobby as well.
Soto signed with the Washington Nationals as an international free agent in 2015 out of the Dominican Republic. At just 16 years old, he began making his way through the Nationals farm system. Scouts took early notice of his advanced hitting skills and potential for power. In 2017, Soto started the season with the Nationals’ Low-A affiliate before a mid-season promotion to High-A. He continued to dominate minor league pitching that season and ended the year playing in the Arizona Fall League.
His prospect status was rising quickly on scouting lists heading into 2018. That’s when collectors started taking a serious interest in acquiring his rookie cards. Bowman Chrome and Bowman Platinum were the first major baseball card products to feature Soto as a prospect after signing with the Nationals. Prices for these early colored refractors and parallels started low but rose steadily as Soto’s talent became more apparent at the MLB level later that season.
Soto got his first taste of major league action in late May 2018. He got off to a blistering start, hitting well over .300 in his first month with the Nationals. This immediately enhanced the appeal of any cards from his rookie season. Topps Chrome, Topps Series 2, and Stadium Club featured Soto after his call-up and debut. His cards from these sets quickly established themselves as some of the most sought after modern rookie cards on the secondary market.
After playing in just 78 games in 2018, Soto still managed to finish second in National League Rookie of the Year voting and finish fourth in MVP voting as a 19-year-old. This unprecedented level of success from such a young player was a huge shot in the arm for the collectability of his 2018 rookie cards. Prices rose dramatically throughout 2019 and into 2020 as Soto continued putting up All-Star caliber seasons at age 20 and 21.
Some notable 2018 Soto rookie cards that exploded in secondary market value include Topps Chrome Green Refractor /99, Topps Chrome Orange Refractor /50, Topps Chrome Purple Refractor /5, Topps Complete Set Rookie Patch Auto /50. Arguably his most iconic and valuable card from that first season is the Stadium Club Chrome Autograph /35. Graded examples in PSA/BGS 10 have regularly sold for $10,000 or more in recent years.
As one of the bright young superstars in baseball, Soto has continued to see strong representation across all the major modern card brands including Topps, Bowman, Panini, and Leaf. Some of the best cards to come out of each subsequent season since 2018 have inevitably featured Soto and commanded high prices. For example, 2019 Topps Chrome Silver Pack Refractor /70 cases have sold for over $1,000. His 2019 Bowman Chrome Autograph Orange Refractor /50 is another popular modern parallel that often reaches $500 raw.
Soto continues to establish himself as one of the premier sluggers in MLB, so interest and investment into his long-term prospect profile remains high. He began the 2021 season as a 22-year-old with two All-Star selections already under his belt. Card collectors are still actively seeking out undervalued or overlooked rookies and parallels from 2018-2020 to complete rainbow sets or break into higher grades. And new products each year provide more opportunities to add fresh Soto cards to collections.
Within the next few seasons, as Soto firmly cements his superstar status and hopefully achieves individual accomplishments like batting titles or MVP awards, his early flagship rookie cards are likely to reach five and even six figures depending on grade. Investment-minded collectors are already showing foresight by acquiring and holding his raw or graded rookie cards in anticipation of future growth. Meanwhile, fans just enjoying collecting the game can appreciate following Soto’s career through all the baseball cards documenting his rise to stardom from prospect to perennial All-Star. Either way, Juan Soto will surely remain one of the most collectable young stars in the hobby for many years to come.
