Robert Gsellman Baseball Cards: Tracking the Career of an Up-and-Coming Mets Pitcher
Robert Gsellman was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft out of Barton County Community College in Kansas. While he didn’t immediately rise through the Mets minor league system, Gsellman has developed into a solid MLB starter and his baseball cards have started to gain more attention from collectors in recent years as his career has progressed. Let’s take an in-depth look at Gsellman’s career so far and examine some of his notable baseball cards that have been released.
Gsellman made his professional debut in 2013 with the Kingsport Mets of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. He pitched only 9.1 innings that season, posting a 7.71 ERA. His first baseball cards came in 2013 Bowman Draft and 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects sets. As a non-top prospect just starting his career, these early cards don’t carry much value today. They are important for collectors following Gsellman’s progression.
Gsellman spent the 2014 season with the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Low-A South Atlantic League. He showed improvement with a 3.48 ERA over 114.1 innings. This earned him his first inclusion in the Mets’ Bowman Chrome team set prospect card in 2014. His performance also led to cards in 2014 Topps Minor League, Heritage Minors, and Gallery baseball sets. While still low-value as a prospect, it was positive to see Gsellman gain a larger card presence after a better statistical campaign.
The 2015 season was another step forward for Gsellman. Promoted to the High-A St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League, he posted a solid 3.48 ERA with improved strikeout numbers. Topps and Bowman again included him in their minor league/prospect sets that year. Of note was his inclusion in the 2015 Topps Pro Debut base set, showing Topps saw potential in him as a prospect to track. Collectors began taking notice of Gsellman’s steady gains in performance and card offerings.
Gsellman made his MLB debut for the Mets on September 5, 2016. Despite allowing 4 ER over 5 innings, it was an exciting moment for his burgeoning baseball card collection. Several inserts recognized his call-up, including 2016 Topps Now Social Medallion Green #85 and 2016 Topps Update Retired Number Parallel #RU-GG. While with the big league club, he also earned 2016 Topps Heritage Minor League Performers and 2016 Topps Update base rookie cards. This marked Gsellman’s official entry into the world of major league cardboard.
The 2017 season saw Gsellman cement his place on the Mets roster as a valuable starting pitcher. He made 19 starts with a 4.42 ERA over 108.1 innings. Topps and other manufacturers responded by including Gsellman prominently in their flagship sets like 2017 Topps Series 1 and 2017 Topps Heritage. As a full-time major leaguer, valuable parallels and short prints started to emerge, like the coveted 2017 Topps Heritage High Number #132 gold parallel. Card collectors took note that Gsellman was becoming an important piece for the Mets going forward.
In 2018, Gsellman posted career bests with a 3.77 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 33 games and 113.2 innings between starting and relieving. Popular products like 2018 Topps Chrome Update took notice by including prestigious Autograph and Relic cards of the rising hurler. Perhaps most notably was Gsellman’s inclusion as one of 10 players featured in the high-end 2018 Topps Clearly Authentic AFL patch card set. This showed Topps acknowledged Gsellman as among the elite MLB prospects and young stars.
Since establishing himself as a big league regular, Gsellman’s cards have only grown in both quantity and desirability among collectors. 2019 saw Topps drop base and short print parallels like the coveted 2019 Topps Update Green #US66. Later that year, Gsellman delivered with a dominant postseason showing versus the Dodgers in the NLDS, further cementing his status. This playoff performance led to desirable insert cards from 2019 Topps Now and 2019 Topps Update.
In 2020, Gsellman continued bouncing between the rotation and bullpen for the Mets with great effectiveness. Topps and other brands doubled down on including prominent base cards to track his progress. Insert sets like 2020 Topps Chrome Update Draft Picks also featured desirable hit opportunities. Collectors turned their attention to chasing Gsellman parallels and products centered on emerging young talent. This highlighted how far he had come as a prospect-turned-rotation-stabilizer.
To this point in 2021, Gsellman has carved out a indispensable role for the Mets once again. While injuries have slowed him, Topps products like 2021 Series 1, 2021 Archives, and 2021 Heritage ensure collectors can follow the progress of this fan favorite. With continued strong pitching, harder to pull inserts like relics and autographs will become bigger chase cards for dedicated Gsellman collectors. After eight years, his rookie cards may also start to climb as he cements his place in franchise history.
In summary, Robert Gsellman’s baseball cards provide a fascinating hobby storyline of a prospect’s development into a reliable big league starter. From low-level prospect cards to flagship rookie issues and coveted modern parallels, his body of work represents the maturation of a player collectors have enjoyed following. As Gsellman continues pitching effectively for the Mets, his collection can bring value and enjoyment to those who understand not only the stats but the journey behind one of the game’s best young arms today.
