Dylan Cruz Baseball Cards: Tracking the Rise of an Up-and-Coming Star
Dylan Cruz is a name that is quickly gaining recognition among baseball card collectors and fans of the sport. The young shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers has exploded onto the MLB scene over the past two seasons, and interest in his rookie cards and newer issues has skyrocketed as a result. In this in-depth look, we will trace Cruz’s journey from an unknown draft pick to budding superstar, and how the hobby of baseball card collecting has reacted to his meteoric rise.
Cruz was a late bloomer coming out of high school, going undrafted after graduating in 2018. He attended the University of Southern California on a scholarship and had a breakout junior season in 2020 that put him on the radar of major league scouts. Cruz hit .345 with 20 home runs and led the Pac-12 conference in runs batted in. His impressive power-speed combo at just 21 years old made him a hot commodity heading into the 2021 MLB Draft.
The Dodgers selected Cruz with the 27th overall pick that year, signing him to a reported $2.5 million signing bonus. Cruz’s first baseball cards started appearing later in 2021 in products like Bowman Draft, Topps Chrome Update, and Stadium Club. As a newly drafted player without any MLB experience, Cruz rookie cards from 2021 sold for around $10-20 each. Early collectors saw Cruz’s upside but there was no guarantee he would develop as hoped.
That all changed in 2022. Cruz skipped over the lower minor leagues and opened the season with Double-A Tulsa. He dominated pitchers over his level, hitting .310 with 15 home runs in just 57 games. The Dodgers aggressively promoted Cruz to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he continued mashing at a .290 clip. Cruz received his first MLB call-up in August and immediately made an impact. In his debut game against the Giants, Cruz laced a go-ahead two-run double. He would finish the season batting .280 in 30 games for the Dodgers.
Cruz’s breakout minor league performance and promising MLB debut created a perfect storm for his rookie cards. Collectors who had gambled on early 2021 issues were now sitting on significant gains. A Bowman Draft Chrome Refractor rookie card that may have sold for $20-30 previously was now commanding $100-150 based purely on Cruz’s on-field accomplishments. Even base rookie cards from sets like Topps Chrome Update were selling in the $50-75 range, 10 times what they cost just months prior.
The hype around Cruz carried into the 2023 season. He entered spring training with a chance to win the Dodgers starting shortstop job, left open by the free agency departure of longtime star Trea Turner. Cruz had an outstanding Cactus League showing, batting .375 while showing off elite defense at a premium position. He broke camp as LA’s everyday shortstop, garnering national attention as one of baseball’s top young breakout candidates for the upcoming season.
Cruz’s ascension to being the Dodgers starting shortstop sent shockwaves through the baseball card community. Collectors rushed to purchase any remaining Cruz rookie cards from 2021, knowing they now held cards featuring the player poised to become a star. Within weeks, a PSA 10 graded version of Cruz’s Topps Chrome Update rookie jumped to a price of $500-600 based on recent eBay sales. Even base cards were selling for $150-200 in top condition. Cruz had gone from an unknown draft pick to one of the hottest rookie commodities in the hobby in just over a year’s time.
With Cruz now firmly entrenched in the national spotlight as an everyday shortstop for a World Series contender, interest in his newly released 2023 cards skyrocketed as well. Products like Topps Series 1, Bowman, and Topps Chrome all featured new Cruz rookie variations that took the collecting world by storm. Within the first month of release, ungraded versions of Cruz’s Topps Chrome Silver Pack rookie parallel were selling for over $300 each on auction sites like eBay. Even base paper rookies from Series 1 jumped up to $50-75 range based on the hype.
As Cruz continues his breakout campaign for the Dodgers in 2023, there is no sign of interest in his cards slowing down. Through the first two months of the season, Cruz has batted over .300 while displaying elite defense at a critical up-the-middle position. If he keeps producing at this rate, Cruz’s rookie cards could continue appreciating significantly in value as he cements his status among the game’s emerging stars. For collectors who gambled on Cruz early and held onto their investments, it is paying dividends in a big way. Few could have predicted such a meteoric rise, but Dylan Cruz is proving with his on-field play that he is here to stay among the elite of the next generation in Major League Baseball. His cards have followed suit in becoming some of the hottest commodities in the entire collecting hobby.
